01/23/2026
While shelves empty and people prepare to stay inside, ranchers are preparing to go out into the storm.
Texas—and much of the South—is bracing for what they’re saying could be a dangerous ice and snow storm. Bitter wind, plunging temperatures, wind chills below zero. And for us, there’s no staying inside and hoping for the best.
What makes this even harder is that this isn’t weather we’re used to. Our cattle aren’t conditioned for prolonged extreme cold like animals in northern states, and our roads aren’t built or maintained for ice and snow. There are places that get hit far worse—and our hearts are with them—but when your livestock, equipment, and infrastructure aren’t made for these conditions, it adds an entirely different layer of difficulty and risk.
Right now, our days and nights are spent getting our animals ready. Moving cows that are close to calving closer to the barn, so if something goes wrong, we can get to them fast. Hauling in extra hay, feed, calf milk, and colostrum—praying we won’t need it, but knowing we might. Walking pastures again and again, checking every cow, watching for signs that could turn into tragedy in this kind of cold. Installing water heaters where we can, and knowing that where we can’t, we’ll be out there anyway—breaking ice, driving through snow and wind—because water isn’t optional.
We’re preparing our home too. Bringing things inside. Making sure our dogs are fed. Making sure we have food, gas, and propane in case the lights go out. Because the work doesn’t stop just because the weather turns dangerous.
The next few days will be hard. Exhausting. Cold in a way that settles into your bones. While most people will be warm inside, ranchers and farmers will be outside in the dark, in the wind, in the ice—because the animals depend on us. Their lives are in our hands.
We pour our hearts into these animals. We lose sleep over them. We worry over them. And more often than not, we put their safety before our own.
If you think of us over the next few days, please say a prayer—for us, for all ranchers and farmers, and for every animal fighting to make it through this storm. 🤍
