South Dakota Farmers Impacted by a Double Punch of Storms in May
In mid-May, eastern South Dakota and parts of Minnesota were hit by a derecho – a large-scale windstorm with 90-to 100-mph straight winds. The damage was felt by many farmers throughout the region, with one dairy farm, Global Dairy in Estelline, having to relocate 1,700 cows overnight.
It was no small feat relocating that number of cattle, but Victory Farms in Milbank came to the rescue, taking in all 1,700 cows and housing them on their nearby older dairy facility. The owner, Kevin Souza, stated, “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Arjan [one of the owners] is one of those guys that is always willing to help others out. So, when he called needing help, it was a pretty easy decision to help him out because he’s that type of person to everyone else.”
The next round of storms hit the same area two weeks later. Over Memorial Day weekend, a series of severe storms that brought strong winds, heavy rain, hail and multiple tornado watches and warnings, impacted South Dakota. Unfortunately, this time, Victory Farms was in the path. And while they report no cows or people were injured, the farm suffered some loss that makes their long days grow even longer.
“Our shop and one calf barn suffered complete loss,” Souza reports.
His wife, Suzanne, posted on Facebook that cleanup started right after the storm passed.
“We were told that it was a tornado that possibly went through our area,” she wrote. “To have damage at farms 7 miles apart is hard to take, but everyone including the cattle are safe. Proud of Kevin, the kids and our employees for picking up and keeping things going with cleaning up and the day-to-day operations. [On] May 12 we moved cattle onto our place to help another farmer who got hit and lost their parlor. We are thankful for their employees that are helping us pick up the pieces. Dairy farmers have a special bond and no matter how near or far, a hand is always available to help out.”
Victory Farms milks 5,500 cows and is currently housing Global Dairy’s 1,700 cows that were displaced due to the derecho. Souza says they were fortunate to not have suffered more loss than they did.
“We feel lucky that we didn’t suffer more loss,” he says. “We moved the calves to another open barn and it's business as usual here.”
Evan Grong, the transportation and milk procurement manager with Valley Queen, said the Memorial Day storms did not cause any injuries or have an impact on dairy production or processing for area producers or Valley Queen.
“There were some reports of damage to buildings and equipment on area farms. The impacts of yesterday’s storms are still being felt today with several area roads underwater from the heavy rainfall,” Grong says. “Area producers continue cleanup efforts from this second round of severe weather in the region. Valley Queen reminds all motorists to use extreme caution while driving and to watch for downed power lines and flooded roadways.”
