Saline County Feeders in Dorchester’s owner, Derek Pohl, believes that people in agriculture protect agriculture, and that is just what he set out to do last week.
On March 18 Pohl organized a fast-moving relief effort to get feed to ranchers in western Nebraska after wildfires scorched grassland, displaced cattle and left producers scrambling for forage. By March 20 Pohl was directing donors to other ways to help.
Pohl said the effort began after he saw social media posts from a customer near Hyannis who was in the middle of the fires.
“I had a customer that fed cattle here that was posting pictures on social media that they were in the middle of the fire and everything,” Pohl said. “We had previously sent hay to Oklahoma a couple years ago when it got burned up. I knew how much they needed that, or appreciated doing it.”
At first, Pohl thought about sending hay. But after seeing others already stepping up with hay and trucking offers, he decided to focus on a different need.
“There are going to be a lot of guys that send hay, but the cattle are going to need protein,” Pohl said.
That idea quickly turned into a much larger project.
Pohl said he originally hoped to collect enough money to fill a trailer with about three pallets of protein cubes and tubs. Instead, in about three days, donors helped fund about $17,000 worth of feed, enough to send 54,000 pounds of protein cubes and tubs.
The effort involved Tyler Dickinson of Seward, Scott Nuttleman of Stromsburg, Weber Feedyard of Dorchester and Zoucha Hay Grinding of Albion, along with a long list of additional donors and supporters.
Pohl said Saline County Feeders also sent 22 tons of hay to the Cottonwood Fire area, where it was delivered directly to a rancher who planned to distribute it among neighbors.
The wildfire damage across western and central Nebraska has been widespread. Farm Progress reported that four major fires and several smaller blazes had burned about 701,000 acres in Nebraska as of March 17. The report said the Morrill Fire, the largest wildfire in state history, displaced at least 25,000 head of cattle and destroyed pasture, hay and forage resources, leaving ranchers in need of feed while burned grassland recovers.
Pohl said the need is likely to continue well beyond the first wave of public attention.
He said one contact helping coordinate relief told him more than 30,000 cattle had been displaced and warned that ranchers will need grass and feed for months to come.
“People move on pretty fast,” Pohl said. “That’s worrisome because the need will be ongoing.”
Dickinson, co-founder of Nebraska Strong Disaster Relief, helped line up trucking for the hay and part of the protein feed shipments.
Dickinson said Nebraska Strong Disaster Relief began in 2013 after tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma, when he and others organized truckloads of donations. Since then, the group has helped during other disasters such as tornadoes, flooding and wildfires.
For the current Nebraska wildfire response, Dickinson said supplies have been delivered directly to ranchers with help from local contacts.
“They are very thankful,” Dickinson said. “We’re working with a vet and the North Platte Feed Center, and they are our eyes on the ground there. They are going around to all the ranchers, figuring out what they need, and we’re shipping directly into these guys.”
Dickinson said even one delivery led to an unexpected benefit.
He said driver Trey Watson of Seward, who was hauling hay, spotted a fire that had not yet been reported. Watson was unable to put it out himself, so he drove until he found a game warden and alerted authorities.
“We sent that load of hay and that trucker found a fire nobody knew about,” Pohl said.
Scott Nuttleman of Stromsburg helped pick up the majority of the protein cubes and tubs in York, stored them at his yard and prepared them for loading. Weber Feedyard of Dorchester hauled another load of cubes and tubs, and Zoucha Hay Grinding donated trucking for the hay shipment.
Pohl also credited Exeter Feeders and Breeders, a local nonprofit affiliate of the Nebraska Cattlemen that includes about 15 area cattlemen, for helping line up donations and contributing to the effort. He said the group is Nebraska Cattlemen’s oldest affiliate.
Although Pohl and Dickinson were no longer trying to coordinate another full load by Friday, March 20, Pohl said tax-deductible donations can still be made through Exeter Feeders and Breeders and will be directed toward cattlemen impacted by the wildfires.
Checks may be made payable to Exeter Feeders and Breeders and mailed to 273 County Road 1800, Dorchester, NE 68343. Pohl said the group’s March 28 banquet in Milligan will also include a donation jar, with proceeds going toward wildfire relief.
Pohl said the response from local donors was overwhelming and reflected the way agriculture communities respond when disaster strikes.
“This is going to sound really cliche, but it’s 100% true,” Pohl said. “I’ve had so many prayers of my own answered. Why couldn’t we be the answer to somebody else’s prayer?”
