Water Workout
Ranchers are pretty independent. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to prove that statement.Ranchers are not only as independent as a hog on ice, they are also self-dependent when the need arises. For North Dakota cattle producer, Chad Skretteberg, the need arose as the Heart River rose to flood stage and then way past flood stage. An A/P story by Blake Nicholson related how the Heart River spilled over its banks and threatened to flood Skretteberg's barn where his newborn calves were being kept dry and cozy. When it became apparent the barn would be flooded, Chad and his dad, Loren put up a portable corral on higher ground behind the barn and started figuring how to get the calves moved to be paired with their mothers in the corral. First, Loren tried driving to the barn with an all-terrain vehicle but the flood waters drowned the engine. That's when Chad took the situation in his own hands, or actually his arms. He started carrying calves out of the barn. The water was one and half feet deep in the barn at that time and up to his pockets for most of the 100 feet he carried each calf to the corral. Chad carried 32 calves to join the cows in the corral that late night and early morning. That adds up to over ten football fields. I'm proud to say Chad and Loren didn't wait for FEMA or some other government agency to help them. Nor did they blame any agency or any person for not acting quick enough, they just did what was needed and accepted the problem as part of their life style. I'm Jeff Keane.
