The emotion could be heard in Glen Brier’s voice as he spoke to Global News about losing nearly a fifth of his cattle herd to a storm over the weekend.
“It’s kind of, um, I guess it’s a disaster — what we had here the other night,” Brier said, pausing to wipe away tears that were streaming from behind his sunglasses.
“It takes many years to build your cattle herd to where you want it. And one day you come and find this here – 14 cows, 13 calves and one bull (killed) in a lightning storm.”
Brieres’ Mancota area ranch is about 150 km southeast of Swift Current. Conor O’Donovan / Global News
A fourth-generation farmer’s southwest Saskatchewan pasture swayed slightly under a bright blue sky Monday. He told Global News the scene at his Mankota-area ranch was much less peaceful Friday night.
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“My son was sending me Snapchats. The wind was crazy and the lightning was unreal,” he said of the storm. He said he was at Wood Mountain when the weather broke. “It was quite a lightning show from what my son said.”
It wasn’t until Sunday morning, however, that his brother-in-law discovered 28 of his animals had died in the maelstrom, strewn along about 570 feet of barbed wire fencing. Briere said wind from the storm likely pushed the cattle up the fence when the lightning struck .
Some of the dead animals are visible. Conor O’Donovan / Global News
He said 10 of the calves were bulls destined for the Briere family bull sale, which is held each year in March.
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“Every mother here should have had a new baby growing inside her,” he said, referring to the dead cattle. “It will be another kick for us. Some of our best cows calve here.”
Briere said bulls average about $5,000. The best cows can fetch up to $8,000. Overall, he estimated the value of the loss to be in the $80,000 to $100,000 range.
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“I remember my grandfather lived here, my father and I. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many cattle I have seen die from lightning,” he said.
“It’s going to affect us for a few years.”
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The surviving members of the Briere herd graze. Conor O’Donovan / Global News
On the other side of a nearby hill, where the “lucky ones,” as Briere calls them, are gathered, a mother called out for a calf that would never return.
Some calves, meanwhile, roamed the grasses, looking for mothers who would never feed them again.
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Briere said orphaned calves likely won’t grow as much as they would, increasing the loss.
Only the bull was insured, Briere said, because insuring the entire herd would have been too expensive.
“That’s probably the only one we’re going to take money from,” he said. “I guess I never thought of insuring all my cows, or that it would ever happen to us.”
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Shay Brier digs a hole to bury the dead cattle. Conor O’Donovan / Global News
Briere’s son Shay, who plans to one day take over the business, was at work Monday afternoon digging holes to bury the dead animals.
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“It’s heartbreaking and devastating. You go over the hill and you see this. That’s not something you want to see,” Shay said.
“In the winter, when it’s -30, you’re out there trying to save those calves. You do whatever it takes for them to grow and for us to sell them in our bull sale.”
A family sign hangs outside the entrance to the Briere home. Conor O’Donovan / Global News
Still, despite the enormous tragedy, the Brieres are confident they will overcome the difficulties.
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Glenn said the loss could have been even greater if more than 80 pairs of cows and calves were in the area when the lightning struck.
He said his family members’ phones have been turned off by friends and neighbors asking what they can do to help, and a donation account has been set up.
“Our local vet had to come and see our insured bull and she told me it was 25 years ago when she last saw anything like this. He thought he would never witness it again, but yesterday he did,” he said.
“We will miss them at the end of the year. But we’ll be back. We are tough people from Saskatchewan.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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