Facing staggering losses from wildfires, Panhandle ranchers and farmers seek aid to rebuild

Christy Oats, left, talks at a U.S. Department of Agriculture informational meeting for farmers and ranchers affected by the Panhandle wildfires at the Hemphill County Exhibition Center in Canadian on March 5. (Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune)

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CANADIAN — Farmers and ranchers in the Panhandle lost livestock, buildings and infrastructure in the wildfires still raging through the region. Now they’re looking to rebuild.

More than 100 people packed a room at the Hemphill County Exhibition Center on Tuesday afternoon looking for answers about what government assistance they can tap to help them recover from staggering financial losses caused by the fires. The economic toll from the wildfires, which include the largest in the state’s history, hasn’t been officially tallied. But Panhandle ranchers have likely lost thousands of cattle in the wildfires, according to some preliminary estimates, and hundreds of thousands of acres have burned.

[Wildfires ravage cattle country, threatening Texas’ agriculture economy]

“We’re going to make it through these times: We’ve made it through them in the past and we’re going to make it through now,” Andy Holloway, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent based in Hemphill County, told a standing-room-only crowd.

During a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said that the tragedy of what’s been lost in the fires is “nothing short of catastrophic.” Fires have burned around 70% of Hemphill County and displaced 47 families. Authorities have confirmed two deaths.

“You could see, flying over the entire region, the massive size of the fires that have just engulfed the entire Panhandle,” Abbott said. “As you're closer to the ground, you see that what was once homes or other structures or property has been reduced to nothing more than ashes — something that can never be used again, whatsoever.”

The wildfires in the Panhandle have wrought havoc on the ecosystem farmers and ranchers need to make a living. They not only lost livestock in the inferno but the hay and grass to feed them, the buildings that house them and the fences that pen them in.

A dead cow lays on Currie Smith’s ranch after it was burned by the Smokehouse Creek fire in Hemphill County. (Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)

A section of rancher Currie Smith’s fence is destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek fire Sunday in Hemphill County. (Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)

Tatum Swenhaugen, who raises show pigs with her husband on land south of Canadian, said flames killed 40 of her pigs — about half of her stock, a loss of about $70,000.

The fire also burned down every building on the property used to house and breed the pigs, Swenhaugen said. Those buildings need to be rebuilt soon so they can breed enough pigs to sell during their busy season in the fall, she said.

“That's our main income: when we get to sell those babies in the fall,” Swenhaugen said. “So we've got to have our barns ready to go pretty quick.”

Just how much livestock was lost to the fires isn’t clear yet. In Hemphill County alone, ranchers have likely lost anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 heads of cattle, Holloway said Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of miles of fence will likely need to be repaired or replaced, he said.

[Texas wildfires: how to help and how to stay safe]

Federal programs exist to help farmers and ranchers at least get some compensation for their losses. Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture briefed the packed crowd on how to apply for funds to help them offset the loss of cattle, replace feed stores and water infrastructure, repair and replace fences and prevent wind erosion. They also noted efforts to streamline a potentially cumbersome application process for federal aid to make it easier for farmers and ranchers to more quickly access help. Agency officials said they expect a glut of requests for assistance — and implored attendees to be patient as they process those requests amid local staffing shortages.

Some Panhandle residents in need may not ask for help, officials said — they told attendees they should do their best to help them anyway.

Officials also cautioned them not to neglect their mental health in the wake of such a destabilizing and stressful calamity — and to seek mental health services if they need to.

“Don’t sit and wallow and feel like you're all alone,” said Tanya Holloway, another agent with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “That’s a very dangerous place to go. Your mental health is important. You need to keep yourself together just like you’re trying to keep your cattle together. Because if you’re not together your cattle aren’t going to be put back together.”

County Extension Agent Andy Holloway addresses the crowd during a USDA information meeting in Canadian on March 5, 2024. (Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune)

Joe Dan Ledbetter and Rick Hargrove look over a map showing the burn sites at the Hemphill County Exhibition Center in Canadian on March 5. (Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune)

For Swenhaugen, her business wasn’t the only thing the flames upended. Her mother’s home — and Swenhaugen’s childhood home — sat on the same land where she raises pigs. The home burned down along with the other buildings on the property, displacing her mother, who is staying with Swenhaugen. Her mother’s homeowners insurance may help pay to rebuild at least one barn, she said.

“Hopefully it doesn't take us too long to build back,” Swenhaugen said. “Thankfully we’re all OK. That's the main thing.”

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