Harvey may not have dealt devastating blow to Texas ranchers

GLEN FLORA, Texas (AP) — The damage Harvey inflicted on Texas’ cattle industry hasn’t been calculated yet.

But there’s evidence that it might be less than initially feared and perhaps not as costly as Hurricane Ike. That came ashore in 2008 as a weaker storm but with more salty storm surge that wiped out pastures for months.

Even though Harvey unleashed catastrophic flooding on counties that are home to 1.2 million beef cattle, which is more than a fourth of the state’s herd, there were apparently only a few instances in which large groups of cows drowned.

Industry experts say that while some individual ranchers were devastated by the storm, beef prices aren’t expected to spike. Also, some pastureland has recuperated quickly after freshwater floods subsided.