Texas farmers and ranchers see long road of recovery ahead after devastating wildfires

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Wildfires in Texas have burned more than a million acres, as firefighters continue to fight the blazes.

  Stephanie Sy has our look at the long road ahead for farmers and ranchers in the Texas Panhandle.

• Stephanie Sy:

  Geoff, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest in the state's history, is now mostly contained, but not before it and other wildfires in the state inflicted major damage on the agriculture industry in the Panhandle.

  Texas' cattle industry is worth $15.5 billion, with some 11.8 million head of cattle in the state; 85 percent of the cattle is located in the Panhandle. So far, more than 7,000 head have died in the fires. Farmers and ranchers now face devastating personal and financial losses.

  For more, we're joined by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

  Mr. Miller, thank you for joining the "NewsHour."

  I understand that the big wildfire out there is 85 percent contained. Are the farmers and ranchers in the Panhandle out of the woods from active fires at this point?

• Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner:

  Well, I think so.

  The latest report — we have a new report out — 90 percent of all the fires are contained, 90 percent containment. However, we have got dry conditions coming up, so the likelihood of fire spreading is great. So we're trying to stay on top of those, make sure they stay out.

• Stephanie Sy:

  OK.

  And I said that there are some 6,000, 7,000 head that have died so far. I expect that number is going to go up, but it's not just about the dead cattle, is it? What about all that grazing land that's been razed? What about all the infrastructure?

• Sid Miller:

  Well, and you're absolutely correct, over 7,000 head of cattle that are dead, 2,000 square miles of land scorched, looks like a moonscape, 120 miles of electric lines on the ground. So there's no electricity to the wells to pump water for the livestock.

  We closed 16 schools. Most of those are back open. We have lost over 500 barns and houses in that area,three fatalities, five injured firefighters. So it's a big problem up there. We have got a lot of recovery and a lot of work ahead of us as we go forward.

• Stephanie Sy:

  Now, I know that you have been in touch with the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack. I also know the USDA is offering some loans to ranchers.

  Between that and any other disaster assistance that may become available, is that going to be enough for these businesses and ranchers to be on the road to recovery?

• Sid Miller:

  Well, yes, but the road is going to be long and hard. It'll take at least two years for the grass to come back on these places.

  We have got, out of my estimate, not official, probably 3,000 to 4,000 miles of fence to replace at $15,000 a mile. So we desperately need hay and fencing materials in that Panhandle area. We lost seven grain and seed dealers, completely wiped out. So it wasn't just the farmers and ranchers. We had the railroads go through that part of the state.

  We lost one railroad press. So the railroad was down for a while. I think they have got it repaired, at least where they can use it and keep the trains running, but a lot of things you don't think about when you have a fire of this magnitude.

• Stephanie Sy:

  You are a cattleman yourself, I understand. It's in your blood.

  I wonder if you could describe for us what it might be like to be a cattleman right now in that area, what they might be going through mentally and emotionally, not to mention financially.

• Sid Miller:

  Well, yes, some of those ranches up there are over 100 years old, generation after generation. It gets to the point where you don't own the land. The land owns you. And that's your family heritage.

  Everything about your family is now gone. You might not have anything but the shirt on your back. So it's very devastating to these families to lose everything they got. They have got — cattle losses are astronomical. That 7,000 number will continue to go up.

  We have got a lot of cattle we're going to have to euthanize. The hooves are burned off. The udders are burnt beyond that you can't heal those up. A lot of orphaned calves are going to have to be bottle-fed. So it's a mess. We will have to put down a lot of those cattle or at least take them to the sale barn.

  They won't be eaten. They're just not salvageable after they have been through a fire like that.

• Stephanie Sy:

  Are you worried about the mental health of some of these farmers and business owners, given the threats to their livelihoods that they're facing right now?

• Sid Miller:

  Yes.

  And I would like to direct everybody to our Web site and our social media, TexasAgriculture.gov. You will find our hay hot line there, where you can — and you will find drop locations around the state and other states. You will find delivery points in the Panhandle if you want to ship fencing supplies or feed or hay directly up there.

  Now, then, our AgriStress network, that's my suicide mental health hot line. It's different than 988. The phone number for the AgriStress hot line is 833-897-2474. We answer that around the clock. We answer it in 30 seconds, and we just don't take that call one time. We call you back the next day and the next day until we make sure that you're OK.

• Stephanie Sy:

  Commissioner, as devastating as this clearly was for ranchers, farmers and business owners in the Panhandle, do you expect the impact to be relatively localized, given just the size of Texas' agriculture industry?

• Sid Miller:

  I don't — I'd like to reassure consumers that this fire will not drive beef prices higher. We — you have — I think you mentioned we have 11 million head of cattle in Texas alone. This is going to be 10,000, 15,000 head total, but even the ones that we have to salvage and sell because they're no longer viable to the operation.

  So, overall, it won't affect the overall price of beef to the average consumer. Now, locally, it's going to have some local implications to those farmers and ranchers around there. Having to sell your livelihood is pretty tough sometimes. You spend decades building up these genetics on these cattle. Then, all — one day, it's all gone, so tough time for these ranchers up there.

• Stephanie Sy:

  Well, our thoughts are certainly with you and them.

  Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, thanks so much for joining the "NewsHour."

• Sid Miller:

  Thank you.