Tennessee Winter Storm at the Farm
Beginning about 10 days prior to the winter weather event in January 2026, weather forecasters from the mid-west to the east coast began telling of a potential crippling winter storm that would affect over half of the United States.
Why do We Need to Prep?
When something of this magnitude is forecasted, you must prepare for life on the farm to be without some of the daily luxuries for an extended period of time. A lot of people may think that you would have plenty of hay from the summer baling season but most probably never realize that without electricity there are a lot of things you can’t do. Such as getting fuel to run the equipment to feed the hay, you can’t turn on the lights in the barns and sheds, water systems cannot run because there is no electricity to run the well pumps nor can you provide warmth to the new born calf that was just born in single digit temperatures that got chilled in the snow and freezing rain.
Getting Ready
There are several things to be done in advance to prep for this type of event and a lot depends on location and type of operation. Here are some of the things we do here on our farm to prepare. We fuel up all of our equipment including tractors, ATV’s, feed truck and all other vehicles just in case. After all the fueling is done, we top off all the fuel storage tanks in preparation for the impacts of a prolonged winter weather event.
All the farm generators are fueled up, checked and tested so they are ready if the electricity goes out. We also prepare some indoor bedding areas in case of a weak/chilled new born calf or any animals that may become sick or injured.
No one likes the thoughts of a winter storm no matter where you live or what you do and farmers are no different. Yes, it creates a lot of extra work here on the farm, but knowing we have done our part to prepare and be able to care for our cattle, makes it all worth it.
We may not be perfect, but we do our very best to take care of all our livestock and keep them as healthy and safe as we possibly can. Thanks for checking out how we prepare for winter storms.
