Wisconsin farmers helping each other after snow collapses barns

The weekend blizzard has some farms looking for places to shelter their cows. About ten farms with collapsed or structurally-compromised barn roofs in a 150 mile stretch of central and northeastern Wisconsin. Trotter says he started receiving phone calls Sunday morning, as more than 30 inches of wet, heavy snow and freezing rain fell in some areas.   He tells Brownfield the impact on producers is still being assessed.  “From what I know, probably somewhere around seven or eight thousand cows are being moved, or heifers.  That’s anecdotally.  We don’t have a clear picture of everyone who’s been affected.”Trotter says they’ve reached out to DBA members, and some are responding to help temporarily take on more cows.  “(People in) agriculture and dairy farmers are ones that look out for each other, and we’re seeing a lot of that during this storm.”One of the largest barns held 1,100 cows. But all of them got out safely before the roof fell in.The weekend blizzard that pummeled the region left snow drifts 10 feet deep next to some barns, frustrating efforts to get ladders and snow removal equipment up on the roof. Near Oconto Falls, O’Harrow Family Farm employees have been scrambling since the roof collapsed on one of the farm’s dairy barns Sunday morning.The barn held 1,000 cattle, said owner Tim O’Harrow.“The center alley of the barn was destroyed. We still have some cows underneath the debris. We got all the healthy cows out,” he said Sunday.