LINCOLN, NEB. (RFD NEWS) — Wildfire coverage continues in Nebraska, where containment efforts are advancing on two major fires, even as communities continue recovering from the largest wildfire in state history. Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue joined us on Tuesday’s Market Day Report to provide the latest update on wildfires across the region.
In his interview with RFD NEWS, McHargue discussed current conditions surrounding the Ashby and Minor fires and the impact being seen on the ground.
“Some of these roads to get into the ranches normally, in the winter, those roads drift shut from the snow,” he explains. “There’s literally sand drifting those roads shut, and they have to plow the sand out just to get in. That gives you a little bit of the conditions on some of these really fragile Sandhills that have been burned.”
He also reflected on the Morrill Fire, which is now contained, and whether there has been enough time to fully assess its impact on agriculture.
“I mean, the bottom line is we’ve got almost 50,000 cows that we’re going to have to find new homes for, and that has not been remedied,” he said. “We may have the fires out on those big fires, but now we have to deal with how we move forward, and those are difficult conversations.”
McHargue shared what he’s hearing from producers in affected areas and the potential ripple effects still ahead. He also addressed where the greatest needs remain, particularly as wildfires continue to impact livestock, land, and infrastructure.
“The impact on producers, quite frankly, is the mental toll,” MCHargue told RFD NEWS. “They’re trying to cab, they’re trying to fight fires, they’re doing all this. And then today, I came in on the interstate, and I just about got blown off the road. I mean, it’s just blowing that strong, and it’s just a recipe for continued difficulty.”
He also provided an update on the region’s spring planting season and his expectations moving forward.
“We’re ready to go, other than it just being dry,” he said. “So we actually have some pivots running just to get some soil moisture back in some of those fields that have been worked. We’ve got manure put on a lot of our fields, so we’re having to get some water on them just because the forecast is not friendly right now.”
Finally, McHargue also shared how people can help ranchers affected as they rebuild.
“Well, there are a lot of funds out there, but Nebraska Farm Bureau does have a disaster fund [...] you can go to NEFB.org, and you can donate there,” he said. “We don’t take any administration fees out of there. We just get that money to the people who need it on the ground. One of the things that people are doing, thinking about — we have a lot of irrigation in Nebraska. We can take some of these irrigated quarters that maybe would be growing corn or fast-growing forage on them, and we can graze a lot of cows in some of those areas.”
LEARN MORE AND DONATE: www.nefb.org
