Editorial - Nobody Can Really Understand, But We Have To Try
Steve Hallstrom
Special to The Farmer
I can’t say I know what the Sorenson Family is going through, but I have some sort of understanding. And it’s awful.
We all know that the ranching business gives you a little bit of everything. Most of the time, bounty and hardship come in equal quantities, with little notice. I grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Central Minnesota, and even though it’s been decades since I made the rounds to check on the animals, you don’t ever really forget the stunning and empty feeling of finding one of them suddenly and mysteriously dead. No matter how often it happens, the feeling is the same.
We heard the news last week that Keene rancher Lance Sorenson discovered 19 of his cattle dead along a creek line, their bodies showing no signs of distress or foul play. As the carcasses thaw and tests conclude at North Dakota State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the community - and the ranching community - waits eagerly for some kind of explanation. This incident isn’t just a statistic - it’s a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities you find in farming and ranching, a profession that demands an uncommon level of toughness in the face of nature’s haymakers.
It’s not merely the financial blow, though replacing 19 head of cattle could easily cost tens of thousands of dollars - a hard hit that can cripple a family operation in an era of razor-thin margins. It’s the deeper wound - the helplessness of finding death on your own land.
It’s not fair, what you do to yourself when things like this happen. You are left to wonder if a keener eye or a different grazing rotation might have prevented it. In the end you shrug your shoulders and move on because there really is no explanation.
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