Farmer Finds Pasture Empty, Sees All 32 Dead Cows In One Big Pile

In Missouri, lightning and thunder are common during this season.

The area has experienced severe weather and flooding recently, causing significant damage.

On a Saturday morning, farmer Jared Blackwelder and his wife Misty heard loud noises after feeding their dairy cows but didn’t think much of it.

Later, when Blackwelder went to gather the cows for evening milking, he found all 32 of them dead, piled on top of each other in the pasture.

He was shocked to see the empty field and the dead cows.

Stan Coday, president of the Wright County Missouri Farm Bureau, explained that Blackwelder discovered the cows when he went to bring them in.

CBS News reported that it’s not uncommon for lightning to cause such incidents, but the number of cows lost was what made this case extreme.

The local vet confirmed that lightning was the cause of death.

The cows may have huddled together under the trees during the storm.

Coday said, “You’re at the mercy of nature,” and recalled losing a cow to lightning himself a few years ago.

Farmers know the risk, but such a loss is devastating.

“They’re not pets, but I’ve raised every one of them,” Blackwelder told the Springfield News-Leader.

Dairy cows are handled twice a day, which makes their loss hard to bear.

It’s also a financial disaster.

Blackwelder said he has insurance, but he’s unsure if it will cover the losses, which he estimates to be around $60,000.

Each certified organic cow is worth about $2,000 to $2,500.

Most farmers don’t have insurance, according to Coday. Losing a cow means losing everything.

In response to neighbors’ concerns, Coday, a beef cow breeder, clarified that the meat from Blackwelder’s cows could not be used.

The cows were already dead for several hours when found, making the meat unsafe for human consumption.

Coday also mentioned that most Missouri farmers don’t have separate cow barns because of the milder weather in the state.