2023 Texas dairy farm explosion
 The explosion as pictured by Castro County Emergency Management | |
| Date | April 10, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Time | Before 7:30 pm (CST) |
| Location | Dimmitt, Texas, United States |
| Deaths | Approximately 18,000 cattle |
| Non-fatal injuries | 1 person |
An explosion occurred on April 10, 2023, at the South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt, Texas, United States. The explosion and subsequent fire killed approximately 18,000 cows and injured one person. The explosion was one of the deadliest fires involving animals, and the deadliest fire involving cattle in at least a decade. It wiped out 3% of dairy cattle in Texas.
Background
The South Fork Dairy Farm is a dairy production facility in Dimmitt, Texas, located in Castro County. The county is the second largest dairy-producer in the United States, with more than 147,000,000 pounds (67,000,000 kg) of dairy being produced in February 2023, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.[1] The facility encompasses an area more than 2,100,000 square feet (200,000 m2).[2] The county houses 30,000 cattle according to the 2021 Texas Annual Dairy Review.[3]
In 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality authorized the South Fork Dairy Farm to double the amount of cattle present at their facility, from 11,500 to 32,000. The permit also enabled the farm to increase manure production by 50%.[1] Immediately prior to the explosion, the facility was home to 19,000 cattle.[4] The vast majority of them were Holstein and Jersey cows.[5]
Explosion
Local police stated that they received eight calls of the incident just before 7:30 p.m. (CST) on April 10, 2023.[6] Residents reported hearing a loud boom, followed by seeing a massive plume of smoke that could be seen billowing from miles away.[3] According to emergency services, callers mentioned that some employees were trapped in the milking building.[6]
After the explosion, the fire spread swiftly throughout the holding pens, where thousands of cattle were crowded together.[5] As a result, the vast majority of cattle at the facility perished.[7]
Though callers stated that multiple employees were trapped, only one woman needed rescuing. She was flown to a Lubbock hospital.[8]
Aftermath
The explosion and subsequent fire killed approximately 18,000 cattle, equivalent to around 20% of the cattle slaughtered in the United States on a regular day. It extinguished almost 3% of the dairy cattle population in Texas.[9][5] The resulting fire was described by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as one of the deadliest fires involving animals and the deadliest cattle-related incident since the institute began records in 2013.[10] During that period, prior to the Dimmitt explosion, deaths of cows in barn fires had totalled 7,300.[11] The AWI has proceeded to plead to the United States federal government to implement laws aimed at reducing the number of animals that are killed in such accidents.[12]
According to Castro County judge Mandy Gfeller, each cow was worth around $2,000 USD. She stated that the financial losses, excluding the destruction of equipment and buildings, could amount to tens of millions of dollars.[13]
Potential cause
According to Castro County Sherriff Sal Rivera, the explosion was caused by a machine known as the "honey badger," which he described as a "vacuum that sucks the manure and water out". Authorities believe it may have overheated, igniting internal gasses such as methane.[14] The term honey badger was later clarified as being called a honey vac. Additional speculation included the possibility that if the explosion was large enough to ignite even a portion of non-fire-resistant insulation, then it would quickly spread throughout the entire building, which covers almost 40 acres (16 ha). In addition, being a large cross ventilated barns (which is of benefit to cows) meant that hundreds of fans could exhaust smoke, resulting in the massive smoke cloud that could be seen for miles. The Texas Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, and Dairy Management Inc. stated that "we are deferring to the appropriate authorities to make that determination."[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b Douglas, Jayme Lozano-Carver and Erin (April 13, 2023). "More than 18,000 cows are dead after dairy farm explosion in Texas Panhandle". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "Texas dairy farm explosion kills 18,000 cows – DW – 04/14/2023". dw.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ a b "Fiery explosion at Texas dairy farm kills 18,000 cows". The Independent. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Rose, Andy (April 13, 2023). "Thousands of cattle killed in explosion and fire at Texas dairy farm". CNN. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ a b c Jervis, Rick. "18,000 cows killed in explosion, fire at Texas dairy farm may be largest cattle killing ever". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Rumpf-Whitten, Sarah (April 12, 2023). "Texas dairy explosion leaves at least 18,000 cattle dead, 1 person critically injured". Fox News. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Ponder, Erica (April 13, 2023). "18,000 cows reportedly killed in 'deadliest' barn explosion at dairy farm near Lubbock". KPRC. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "More than 18,000 cattle killed in Texas dairy farm explosion". Dallas News. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ reports, Staff and wire (April 13, 2023). "Dimmitt explosion that killed 18,000 cows in explosion likely caused by 'overheated equipment'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "18K cattle killed in Texas dairy farm explosion, one of deadliest fires involving animals". ABC7 Los Angeles. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "18,000 cows killed in explosion at US dairy farm". www.walesonline.co.uk. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ "More than 18,000 cows die in Texas dairy farm explosion". Sky News. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Loehrke, Stephen J. Beard and Janet. "18,000 cows – enough to cover 26 football fields – killed in devastating Texas dairy farm fire". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "Texas dairy farm explosion kills 18,000 cows". BBC News. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Morgan, Tyne. "What We Now Know About What Caused the Large Fire at a Texas Dairy Farm". Dairy Heard Management. Farm Journal, Inc. Retrieved April 17, 2023.