Neighbors pitch in after tornado destroys barn
The Associated Press
After the tornado, Boone County dairy farmer Brenda Kastning emerged from her basement and stepped outside where she could see the large barn was still standing. But the smaller barn, which held 16 calves, had been ripped apart by the twister’s 140-mph winds.
Animals’ needs often come first among the dairy farmers in northern Illinois, near the Wisconsin state line. It was no different in the aftermath of Monday’s rare January tornado, which leveled houses and derailed a freight train on its 13-mile path of destruction through Boone and McHenry counties.
Kastning checked on the calves before she checked on her husband, Chuck. He had been inside the large barn and was fine. Her son was fine. The hired worker was fine. The house was still standing on their farm 20 miles northeast of Rockford.
Where were the calves? Turns out they were fine, too. They had run off and were found later, unharmed.
The next problem was where to put the part of the herd normally sheltered in the destroyed barn. There was room for about 50 animals in the barn the tornado left standing, but another 75 or more would sicken and die without protection when normal freezing temperatures returned.
Neighbors live five miles apart in this rural region, but they come running when called.
“They were on the phone to each other right away,” she said. They brought trailers over and loaded up the cattle.
Three other dairy farmers volunteered to shelter a large number of the Kastnings’ herd, no small commitment since some cows need to be milked and others are expected to calve between February and March.
“This isn’t just bringing a casserole, although we’ve got dozens of casseroles in our freezer,” Kastning said. “They’ve offered to help us for who-knows-how-many months.”
Third-generation dairy farmer Brent Mueller is milking 16 of the Kastnings’ cows, which meant first teaching them a different milking system. Mueller uses a milking parlor, in which the farmer stands in a recessed pit below the cows. The Kastnings’ cows were accustomed to a stanchion barn, with farmer and cows on the same level.
“So far they’ve been adjusting very well,” Mueller said.
Bob Donley, another third-generation dairy farmer, took in more than 50 dry cows and heifers.
“I had more than enough room for them,” Donley said. Caring for the new animals adds about an hour to his already long day, and that’s before calving. “Given the situation, you do what you got to do.”
About half the animals are pregnant. Donley must watch them carefully in case there’s a troubled birth. Then he must care for the calves in the crucial period between birth and weaning, getting them on colostrum, which contains protective antibodies, and holding down mortality rates as much as he can.
Several county granges organized a work day to help the Kastnings clear the farm of debris. Volunteers will muck out calve pens, tear down a damaged corn crib and dismantle the mangled remains of outbuildings.
“That’s kind of how everybody is around here,” Mueller said. “If something goes bad, you don’t want to face it alone. It’s definitely good to have good neighbors.”
Tags: ford, tornado