Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming And Utah Ask USDA To Help Livestock Industry Hit Hard By Winter Weather

Mar 02, 2023

By Kaleb Roedel

In a written letter to the U.S. Department of Agricultures’ Farm Service Agency (FSA) officials from Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah say the cold temperatures and persistent snowfall have made it difficult for producers to truck livestock in and out of grazing areas.

Moreover, the amount of plants available for livestock to eat has also been affected, said J.J. Goicoechea, director at the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

“If you’re a grazing permit this time of the year, a lot of those winter permits were snowed over early,” Goicoechea said. “And then none of that vegetation was showing through, especially as that snow continued to accumulate.”

Goicoechea said this comes at a time when producers already face shrinking supplies of supplemental feed to sustain their livestock.

“The stockpiled hay sources and forage that normally you would be eating this time of the year was short because of the ongoing drought,” said Goicoechea, noting livestock feed has surged in demand and costs.

In their letter to the USDA, Goicoechea and other state agriculture leaders asked the agency for help overcoming grazing and feed challenges. They also requested assistance with snow removal and options for offsetting fuel costs.

“We are asking for any flexibility and innovative ideas from the FSA perspective that could expand eligibility and use of emergency programs to provide relief,” officials wrote. “Assistance with supplemental feed/water and locations to move livestock for grazing/feeding are needed urgently.”

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.