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Disaster Preparedness and Response for Cattle (Bos taurus) in Texas
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Introduction
Over the course of the semester, agricultural disaster preparedness has been a key
component. The agricultural sector is one of the least protected sectors in the United States,
making it more susceptible to being attacked whether intentionally or naturally. A state who has
been involved with disaster preparedness for the agricultural sector is Texas. Texas is one of the
top states for livestock production. This paper is going to focus on a few disasters that have
occurred in the past which have decimated Texas’ livestock production, focusing on beef cattle
Bos taurus. Majority of the disasters that have occurred are due to natural causes such as
hurricanes. There is also going to be some attention focusing on the intentional agricultural
disasters that could occur to the cattle in Texas. Throughout the paper, there are going to be
sections that break down important information for the average individual to better understand
the disaster preparedness efforts for cattle in the state of Texas. Areas that are going to be
highlighted include, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts that are currently available for
farmers and ranchers to protect their cattle, previous disasters, and economic effects from an
agricultural disaster. In order to understand preparation efforts, it is best to understand what
disaster preparedness efforts Texas has to better protect its cattle.
Disasters that can Impact Cattle in Texas
In order to better prepare for the future, we have to look back at the past. This holds true
when preparing for a disaster, whether it is intentional or natural. How would things be different
if we were better prepared for an agricultural disaster? This section is going to focus on
preparedness, response, and recovery efforts from previous disasters that have impacted cattle in
Texas. Such disasters that have impact cattle include, flooding, hurricanes, foot-and-mouth
disease, and droughts. Each disaster was handled differently and we can learn from these events
to better prepare for those we may encounter in the future.
The first disaster that I am going to focus on is flooding which often occurs throughout
Texas. Flooding can result from severe thunderstorms or from hurricanes that make landfall.
Hurricanes such as Ike, Allen, and Rita have severely impacted Texas’ agriculture. Due to
flooding and damaging winds, a lot of beef cattle have lost their lives as a result from these
storms. No matter how well prepared ranchers are damaging winds can destroy any lodging
where the cattle is housed. In an article by Hobby Farms (2010), Joe Paschal, and livestock

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specialist for Texas A&M states that when preparing for a hurricane and possible flooding as a
result of the storm, a farmer or rancher’s “Lack of emergency and evacuation plans and lack of
livestock identification are two of the most commonly handled problems when it comes
to livestock disaster preparedness.” Hurricanes are probably the easiest natural disaster to
prepare for since they are often made aware of a few days before landfall. One of the best ways
to protect cattle before a hurricane is to evacuate them and relocate to an area that is not
projected to be hit by the storm’s path. After the storm and flooding occurs, the cattle’s owner
will have to act quickly to relocate them to higher ground so they do not lose any cattle as a
result of the storm. If cattle were to be killed as a result of the storm, it will have production and
economic impacts.
Droughts which commonly occur in Texas can be one of the most costly natural disasters.
According to Schmidt and Garland (2012), a drought’s “immediate effect and costs are usually
borne by farmers, ranchers, and agricultural communities because most damages accrue to
livestock and crops” (p.435). Unfortunately there is not much of a way to prepare for a natural
disaster such as a drought, although authors Mullin and Rubado (2016) state that “Drought
contingency plans prepared by local water suppliers identify best management practices for
reducing water use in a series of successive stages according to the severity of water shortage
conditions” (p.7). Due to the lack of rainfall in a certain region, it is very easy for an entire
region like Texas to become susceptible to droughts. Texas experienced one of the worst
droughts on record back in 2010-2011. Houston who suffered the greatest amount of damage
experienced “with the loss of approximately 66 million trees… Wildfires which erupted over the
Labor Day weekend consumed more than 21,000 acres and fifty-nine homes across three
counties” (Schmidt & Garland, p.435, 2012). It is clear to see how this drought had impacted
livestock, nature, and residents of the Houston area. Water supply for cattle can be quite difficult
to come by since there are water restrictions in place and cattle needs about twenty-four gallons
of water a day to be sufficient. Like many other animals, cattle could go a couple of days without
food, but if water is scarce than that presents a problem. Response and recovery efforts can be
quite difficult when faced with a drought. Besides relying on a storm system to pass through
hoping it brings in a sufficient amount of rain, it is up to jurisdictions to place water restrictions
to help levy sources of water to areas that are heavily impacted. After doing some research, even

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though it is not present in Texas, but cattle can also be impacted by transmissible diseases, such
as foot-and-mouth.
There was a study done in Texas that wanted to see how foot-and-mouth disease would
be handled if there was an outbreak. Foot-and-mouth has not been present in the United States
since the outbreaks in 1929. These outbreaks occurred in Texas and California. In the article by
Ward et al. (2009), the authors point out that foot-and-mouth disease is “considered the most
dangerous foreign animal disease that might be inadvertently introduced into the United States”
(p.286). The purpose of their study was to see if foot-and-mouth disease was found in cattle on a
farm in Texas, how the farmers, state, and federal government would react to the reappearance of
the disease. The authors later state that “with the absence of FMD in the U.S. for > 75 years,
disease modeling is an essential tool for predicting the likely spread of the infection and for the
evaluating of the effectiveness of various mitigation strategies” (Ward et al., p.286, 2009). Even
though foot-and-mouth disease is not presently found in Texas and does not pose a threat to
cattle, it is important for ranchers and farmers to be aware of the outcomes they may face if their
cattle become infected with the disease? In a research paper by Delgado et al (2012), they
mention that “Effective communication and education related to outbreaks of highly contagious
diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), requires an understanding of not only the
behaviors to be encouraged, but the underlying social and psychological processes influencing
those behaviors” (p.133 ). It will also be important for both governments of Texas and the United
States to pay attention and be aware that a disease such as foot-and-mouth can easily become an
agricultural threat if a terrorist were to inject the disease into cattle on a ranch in Texas.
Preparedness Efforts by Ranchers and Farmers
The preparedness efforts taken by ranchers and farmers to ensure that they protect their
cattle from disasters, whether they are intentional or natural is very important. As mentioned
previously, Texas in one of the top states for livestock production in the United States.
According to Texas A&M’s AgriLife Exentsion Network, “Approximately 77 percent (or 129
million acres) of the total land in Texas is farmland” (Smith, D.). This section will go over the
roles ranchers and farmers play in order to protect their livestock from disasters. The first step
for these individuals to prepare for an agricultural disaster is to refer to their local government’s
emergency operations plan (EOP). Emergency operation plans will help guide farmers and

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ranchers in the proper direction when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from a
disaster. In order to lessen the impacts from a disaster, farmers need to do all the preparations
they can in a limited amount of time. In Texas it is common for a farmer to have a Farmstead
Disaster Plan which outlines what needs to be done when preparing for a disaster. This plan must
consider “How to protect crops, equipment and machinery, agricultural chemicals, water supplies
and stores of food for animals” (Smith, D.). While preparing for a disaster, farmers need to go
over inventory, stock feed, implement escape routes, and construct a disaster kit.
Implementing an escape route is important for the main reason of flooding. Flooding is a
common disaster that occurs in Texas, therefore if a hurricane or just a heavy amount of rain
passes through a farmer is going to have to move their livestock to higher land to prevent them
from drowning. Another preparedness effort farmers and ranchers do before any big storm is
marking or identifying their livestock. When a disaster occurs livestock such as cattle often are
killed, stolen, or go missing. In order for farmers and ranchers to identify their cattle, they mark
them. Often times, they are already branded, but there are other ways to mark livestock so one
can identify it when it goes missing. Texas A&M have created a document for individuals who
own livestock to refer to when preparing for an agricultural disaster. In the document, they
mention that farmers can use “temporary forms of identification including halters with ID plates,
fetlock ID bands, mane clips or luggage tags braided into tails and manes” (Texas A&M, 2014).
There are areas that are often overlooked when preparing for a disaster, so the Animal Issues
Committee (AIC) of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) implemented plans and
programs ranging from those who are preparing for a disaster to those who are evacuating to an
area that is not in danger. Livestock such as cattle can be evacuated to another location, but it is
very time consuming and costly to farmers. Therefore they try to prepare for a disaster as best
they can and hope for the best.
Intentional and Natural Disasters Impact on Texas Cattle
Over time, there have been threats to cattle in Texas. The common natural agricultural
disasters that could impact Texas’ beef cattle include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires and
droughts (Smith, D.). While these are the more common types of disasters that can impact the
agricultural sector in Texas, intentional attacks by terrorists should be considered as well. This
section of the paper is going to focus on the impacts that an agricultural disaster has on cattle in

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Texas. It is important for ranchers and farmers to prepare and protect their livestock from a
potential agricultural disaster. They need to abide by emergency operations plans ranging from
local to state governments to prepare for whatever disaster they may face. After a disaster strikes,
they need to begin response and recovery efforts right away, in order to lessen the impact such as
political, social, economic, and loss of livestock and property. An intentional and natural disaster
could levy serious repercussions to beef cattle.
An intentional agricultural disaster could be implemented by a terrorist attack. In an
article by Crutchley et al. (2007), due to the lack of protection of out agricultural sector, they
argue that “Many experts agree that the threat of bioterrorism against the U.S. agricultural and
food infrastructure is growing and that the nation is not adequately prepared to handle such an
attack” (p.792). This is important to take away and both Texas and the United States needs to
come up with ways to better protect the agricultural sector from terrorists. In regards to the lack
of security measures taken on ranches and farms, Crutchley et al. (2007), state that “Most U.S.
farms tend to operate in a relatively open manner, usually lacking physical security, especially in
outlying ﬁelds and feedlots, and seldom with vigorous means to prevent unauthorized access”
(p.792). This would then allow a terrorist to easily access a ranch and farm in Texas and
contaminate cattle by releasing a transmissible disease. As a result of a terrorist attack on the
agricultural sector, there will be severe economic consequences. This will be talked about more
in depth later on, but there are at least three key levels of cost associated with an agricultural
terrorist attack. The first level of cost that can be associated with an agricultural terrorist attack is
the economic cost associated with eradicating and containing infected livestock. The second
level of cost that can be associated with an agricultural terrorist attack is the “indirect multiplier
effects.” The third level of cost that can be associated with an agricultural terrorist attack is
international trade embargoes. An agricultural terrorist attack would negatively impact in the
agricultural sector in many ways. Unlike a natural disaster, a terrorist attack is not predicted and
can happen anytime and anywhere. An agricultural terrorist attack could also result in political
impacts. Citizens, farmers, and ranchers will most likely blame the government for allowing such
an important infrastructure to lack protection and be easily accessible by terrorists. Hopefully in
the future, both federal and local governments can work together to come up with ideas on how
to better protect the agricultural sector and prevent livestock from being infected with
transmissible diseases.

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While agricultural terrorist attacks can go undetected and happen anytime, natural
disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and flooding can be predicted. Since most of
these natural disasters can be predicted about when they are going to occur, it is up to the farmer
and rancher to prepare for any disaster to lessen the impact they will face once the disaster is
over. Natural disasters can have the same amount of impact that an agricultural terrorist attack
can have. Resulting in the loss of property, financial stability, and livestock. Both can result in
long-term damages, therefore it is important that these individuals reach out for help and apply
for disaster relief to lessen the impacts they may sustain from a disaster, whether it is intentional
or natural.
Response and Recovery Efforts after a Disaster
Discussed previously were prevention and preparedness efforts, now the attention is
going to be turned to response and recovery efforts after an agricultural disaster. You can only
prepare so much for a disaster, so once it has passed, it is important to start response and
recovery efforts. Since beef cattle is one of the most produced commodities in Texas, response
efforts have to be done quickly to ensure that beef cattle survive the agricultural disaster. The
response and recovery phases can be just as dangerous as the disaster itself, so farmer, ranchers,
and first responders must be aware of their surroundings especially when located on a farm. If
there is flooding that has occurred, the cattle needs to be relocated to higher ground to prevent
drowning. The ranchers also need to take note how many beef cattle have been killed as a result
of an agricultural disaster as well as how many are missing. This goes back to inventory and
keeping track of everything that was there prior to the disaster. Those beef cattle that survived
needs to be examined for any wounds that can become infected and according to Texas A&M,
“All animals that die immediately following a disaster should be necropsied by a veterinarian”
(Smith D.). Once the surviving beef cattle have been relocated, it is important that their owners
have enough water and feed to last them until they can be moved back to the farm or ranch.
Recovery efforts can be costly, so it is important for farmers and ranchers to look into ways that
can help them financially recover for the disaster. Organizations such as Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Texas Farm Service Agency (FSA) have developed programs which
allows ranchers and farmers to request for disaster assistance. Each phase is important to the

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protection of the agricultural sector, but the recovery phase seems to be the most important.
When an affected area is trying to recover from a major disaster, such as a hurricane, it will be
challenging. Therefore it is important to have as many individuals to help respond to and recover
from the disaster. As we have also learned an agricultural disaster can negatively impact our
economy, livestock, and crop production, which is going to be talked about in more detail next.
Economic Effects from a Disaster
The last component of the paper is going to focus on the economic impact an agricultural
disaster could have on beef cattle in Texas. The main focus is going to be about how the impact
on beef cattle can affect the economy not only in Texas but across the United States. If a disaster
wipes out a majority of the beef cattle in Texas, this will bring negative repercussions to the
economy since many depend on the beef supply from Texas. As mentioned several times
throughout the paper, the agricultural sector is a huge commodity in the state of Texas.
According to Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Network, “Texas is a leader in agriculture
production contributing nearly 18 billion dollars in agricultural output each year from its 229,000
farms and ranches” (Smith, D.). Therefore when a disaster strikes, it puts Texas’ agricultural
sector at a huge risk of losing livestock as well as economic revenue. It is very important that
ranchers and farmers take into account the loss of income, life, and property that can result from
an agricultural disaster whether it is accidental or intentional.
To get an idea of just how much a disaster would impact not only the United States, but
the rest of the world, the Texas Department of Agriculture revealed that cash receipts in 2012
showed that cattle brought in $10.5 billion. Beef cattle which is a number one export commodity
brought in $855 million in 2012 (Texas Department of Agriculture). These statistics goes to
show that if a major agricultural disaster depletes the beef cattle supply in Texas, it would result
in major economic damage. Disaster assistance programs which were mentioned earlier provide
emergency loans and grants to help ranchers and farmers pay for repairing property damage and
restoring supplies for livestock. One important emergency loan that the FSA has to offer is the
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program. The main
objective of this program is to provide “emergency relief for feed losses (including lost grazing
days and baled forage) and/or water shortages, due to a disaster” (FEMA, 2015). These programs
are a great start to supporting a critical infrastructural sector that often gets overlooked.

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Not only will natural agricultural disasters cause significant economic damage to beef
cattle in Texas, but we also need to focus on potential terrorist attacks. The main objective of a
terrorist attack on the agricultural sector is to instill fear and widespread economic damage. Due
to the lack of security, a terrorist could easily access a ranch, farm, or processing facility and
contaminate beef cattle. The potential threats posed by terrorists have previously been mentioned
in the paper, but it is important to acknowledge the economic repercussions that could result
from a terrorist attack on the beef cattle on Texas farms and ranches. As mentioned earlier, there
would be at least three key levels of cost associated with an agricultural terrorist attack.
The first level of cost that can be associated with an agricultural terrorist attack is the
economic cost associated with eradicating and containing infected livestock. If several beef cattle
farms in an area were found to be infected with a disease, the farmers would be faced with the
decision to either eradicate their cattle which would cost money by losing a main source of
income or spend money by containing and treating their cattle in hopes of ultimately getting rid
of the disease.
The second level of cost that can be associated with an agricultural terrorist attack is the
“indirect multiplier effects.” The indirect multiplier effects is “associated with both the
compensation paid to farmers for the destruction of agricultural commodities and the revenue
deﬁcits suffered by both directly and indirectly related industries” (Crutchley et al. p.793, 2007).
If a large portion of Texas’ beef cattle would become infected and resulted in farmers and
ranchers eradicating their livestock, the United States would have to help reallocate money to
those who were impacted. This would negatively impact the United States and Texas because
both would be losing money, Texas would not be receiving money due to their loss of beef
production and would have to use the money the United States provided to start all over.
The third level of cost that can be associated with an agricultural terrorist attack is
international trade embargoes. Other nations around the world would be stopping their trade with
the United States if they found out that beef cattle in Texas became infected with a disease. We
have seen it done in other countries where nations stopped trading with others when there was
something wrong with the agricultural sector. These are three important economic factors to
consider if an agricultural disaster would occur within Texas’ beef cattle.
Conclusion

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After conducting research on beef cattle in Texas, it appears that due to the economy
relying on cattle production, it is important to take any and all preventative efforts to protect
cattle from an agricultural disaster. As gone over in the beginning of the paper, Texas encounters
many disasters that have negatively impacted its agricultural sector. Each section that was
brought up gives a better insight as to what efforts ranchers and farmers go through in order to
protect their beef cattle when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from an agricultural
disaster. Ranchers and farmers use a lot of revenue and resources when taking care of cattle.
Therefore if a natural disaster such as a wildfire or a terrorist attack decimates their supply, then
not only the state of Texas loses money, but the financial impact weighs heavily on the
individual as well. As mentioned earlier, beef cattle brings in around $855 to $900 million
dollars annually. If a disaster results in loss of cattle, then the revenue would definitely be
negatively impacted. After learning about the previous disasters that have impacted Texas’ beef
cattle, it is important to learn from past preparedness and prevention mistakes and make changes
in the future to lessen the response efforts and recovery time. The agricultural sector is one of the
least protected sectors, so it is important as we move forward to come up with ways to better
protect this critical infrastructure from disasters and terrorist attacks so we can lessen the impact
it has on livestock such as beef cattle.
References:
Crutchley, T.M., Rodgers, J.B., Whiteside, H.P., Vanier, M., & Terndrup, T.E. (2007).
Agroterrorism: where are we in the ongoing war on terrorism? Journal of Food
Protection, 70(3), pp.791-804.
Delgado, A.H., Norby, B., Dean, W.R., McIntosh, A.W., & Scott, M.H. (2012). Utilizing
qualitative methods in survey design: examining Texas cattle producers’ intent to
participate in foot-and-mouth disease detection and control. Preventive Veterinary
Medicine, 103(2-3), pp. 120-135.
Hobby Farms Editors. (2010, June 25). Prepare livestock for hurricanes. Hobby Farms.
Retrieved from http://www.hobbyfarms.com/prepare-livestock-for-hurricanes-2/
Kosal, M.E. and Anderson, D.E. (2004). An unaddressed issue of agricultural terrorism: a case
study on feed security. Journal of Animal Science, 82(11), pp.3394-3400.
Mullin, M. & Rubado, M.E. (2016). Local response to water crisis: explaining variation is usage
restrictions during a Texas drought. Urban Affairs Review, p.1-23.

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Schmidt, D.H. & Garland, K.A. (2012). Bone dry in Texas: Resilience to drought on the Upper
Texas Gulf Coast. Journal of Planning Literature, 27(4), pp.434-445.
Ward, M.P., Highfield, L.D., Vongseng, P., & Garner, M.G. (2009). Simulation of foot-and-
mouth disease spread within an integrated livestock system in Texas, USA. Preventive
Veterinary Medicine, 88(4), pp.286-297.
Smith, D.W. (n.d.). Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Farmstead Preparedness and Recovery.
Retrieved from http://texashelp.tamu.edu/005-agriculture/farmstead-preparedness-
recovery.php
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (2014). Livestock hurricane preparedness guide.
[Brochure]. Retrieved from
http://brazoria.agrilife.org/files/2014/07/LivestockHurricanePreparednessGuide.pdf
Texas Department of Agriculture. Texas Ag Stats. Retrieved from
https://www.texasagriculture.gov/About/TexasAgStats.aspx
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2015, July 14). Texas farmers and ranchers have
options for disaster assistance. Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/news-
release/2015/07/14/texas-farmers-and-ranchers-have-options-disaster-assistance

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