By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Mixtures of snow, ice and below-freezing temperatures hit parts of Texas this week during another winter storm.

For Northeast Texas rancher Daniel McCurdy, the storm moved in on Monday, Jan. 30.

“There’s a lot of ice and a little bit of sleet, not much snow, but definitely some slick spots and hungry cattle,” said McCurdy, who serves on Texas Farm Bureau’s Beef Cattle Advisory Committee.

Although conditions have been tough, McCurdy said this doesn’t compare to Winter Storm Uri in 2021.

“(The cattle are) probably better this year, honestly, than that winter freeze we had two years ago where we had so much snow on the ground. We’re making sure to keep plenty of forage and feed out for them,” McCurdy said.

He’s kept a close watch on the water supply for his cattle in Wise and Hopkins counties.

“Water supply—it kind of just depends on the pasture,” he said. “If you have a stock tank, you’re breaking some ice, but live water so far has stayed warm enough that hadn’t really had to worry about it freezing.”

The weather and conditions varied across his pastures.

“We’ve got no ice in some spots, and then we’ve got probably half inch of ice on the top of the road in others. And kind of the same with sleet,” McCurdy said. “You’ve got a kind of solid blanket of white in some pastures, and in others it’s a little spotty, but we’ve kind of had several rainstorms come across the other day. You could hear thunder, and it was raining up high and coming down as ice and sleet down low.”

Despite the freezing weather, McCurdy is thankful for the long-awaited moisture.

Drought conditions have improved slightly across the state. According to the Texas Water Development Board, 55% of the state was suffering from drought conditions at the end of January compared to 87% a year ago.

“We’re thankful to get it,” he said. “We’re glad to have any moisture we can get. The sleet and a little bit of snow cover we got sure helps keep that wheat warmer. So, we’ll take what we can get at this point.”