The largest wildfire in Texas history has burned down approximately 500 structures and at least 1,700 square miles in the Texas Panhandle and neighboring areas. The Texas agricultural commissioner has estimated that 10,000 cattle have been killed in the fires. This is likely going to harm the beef supply for a few years, as ranchers try to rebuild.

Many cattle farmers whose livelihoods have been devastated by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history, which has burned more than a million acres of land across the panhandle, are going to have a hard time coming back from this event.

The state of Texas is home to about 4.1 million beef cattle, according to David P. Anderson, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University. And more than 85% are in the panhandle, according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Miller added on Thursday in a press release that in addition to the thousands of animals that have died, many grain and seed operations have also “reported total losses.”

“There are literally hundreds of structures burned to the ground – houses, barns,” Texas Representative Ronny Jackson said in a video posted to social media. “There are dead animals everywhere – cattle, horses. Unfortunately, there are many animals that are seriously burned, that aren’t dead yet, that will have to be put down.”

Massive wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle sent cattle fleeing from the smoke. https://t.co/5PrXIHBO85 pic.twitter.com/RP62inDfKO

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 28, 2024

The Livestock Loss In Texas Is MASSIVE

Is this just another coincidence?

Mass Cattle Deaths: Coincidence?

Considering red meat is “the most nutritious food on your plate,” and most Americans are wildly unhealthy with chronic diseases from eating food-like products from boxes, a beef supply crunch could make it even harder to get vital nutrients into an already starved public.

Red meat is the most nutritious food you have available on your plate. It contains all the minerals, all the vitamins, all the protein amino acids which are required in the correct ratio, and all the fats which are required in the correct ratio. -BeefTalk

Shane Pennington, a 56-year-old cattle farmer near Canadian, Texas, said: “Even if [the cattle] survive i[the wildfire] more than likely they’re gonna get pneumonia, they’re gonna get sick, they’re gonna die,” Pennington added.

Likely the 10,000 dead cattle estimate will rise as more die off from sicknesses due to the fire.