Amid winter storms in the Pacific Northwest, about 1,600 cows have been killed in eastern Washington state.
More snow is expected in the Pacific Northwest and Yakima Valley, the report said.
“Without our employees, there’s no way we, or our cows, could survive this storm,” Alyssa Haak, a dairy farmer in Prosser, the news outlet.
Farmers are now preparing more bedding, thawing water troughs, and adding extra feed.
“To shield our cows from the wind, we stacked straw bales to create a windbreak for our cows. I give a lot of credit to our milk truck drivers, too. Without their bravery, we wouldn’t be able to get our milk off the farm,” Haak said.
Another farmer said he’s working long hours to protect his cattle.
“These have been the worst few days of my life,” he told the outlet. “We’re just devastated. I don’t think we’ve ever been hit with weather like this.”
A farmer in Sunnyside said he’s helping his neighbors.
“Everyone in our state needs to focus on preparing for the snow and staying safe,” Inslee said in a statement. “Weather forecasters predict this may be a storm unlike one we’ve seen in many years. I encourage everyone to stay off the roads if possible and plan ahead if you must travel.”
“While this month may become Seattle’s snowiest February on record, as it stands with a total of 20.2 inches about one-third of the way through, their snowiest February on record was in 1916 when they received 21.5 inches,” said the website.
The University of Washington also canceled classes at all of their campuses on Feb. 12.