A dairy farm in Florida is scrambling to safeguard the herd’s remaining animals as it deals with the loss of hundreds of cattle due to Hurricane Ian.
Out of a milk-producing herd of roughly 2,400 cows, Dakin Dairy Farm in Manatee County lost at least 250 of them, with the majority of the deaths coming from drowning or wounds from flying items.
The family-owned farm, which has been a mainstay of the neighborhood since the 1970s, was severely damaged by last week’s massive storm, which destroyed barns and uprooted trees on the site.
‘The destruction brought on by Hurricane Ian is beyond comprehension. The proprietors of the dairy said in a Facebook post that “Our Dairy received a big blow and it shocked us to our core.”
The farm said, “We are reaching out to the community not just to ask for support but also to give help,” providing community people in need access to the farm’s power and running water as well as “lots of milk.”
“Eight cattle are the most we’ve ever lost.” According to Courtney Dakin, a family member who owns the farm, “We’re up to approximately 250 right now, and that number is continually climbing.”
In his decades of farming, Jerry Dakin said it was the biggest calamity he had ever seen, saying: “There’s always a time when you walk away and there’s a weep moment.” My livelihood is this. Everything here was made by myself.
However, he claimed that no farm workers were hurt during the storm, and that the milking parlor, where all the cows are milked three times a day, was spared.
The only dairy farms still operating in Manatee County are those owned by Cameron, Farren, and Jerry Dakin.
They are now a pillar of the neighborhood, providing informative tours and running a café with ice cream made with local ingredients that is a favorite meeting place.
About 70 miles to the north of Fort Myers, which was the scene of the worst devastation when Ian made ashore last Wednesday, is where the farm in Myakka City is located.
At least 84 people have died as a result of the storm in recent days as rescue teams search the worst-affected districts.
In Florida, five in North Carolina, three in Cuba, and one in Virginia, there were at least 75 fatalities.
According to officials, more than 2,350 individuals have been saved in Florida as of Monday.
The severe storm has also had an impact on animals around the state.
A rescue effort known as “Operation Noah’s Ark” was started on Pine Island, close to Fort Myers, on Tuesday to transport 275 parrots, including some of the rarest in the world, to safety.
Will Peratino and Lauren Stepp, the owners of the birds, insisted on staying inside their Pine Island home during the hurricane because they could not leave their two lemurs and the flock of birds behind.
In order to convince Peratino and Stepp to leave the island, which is now blocked off from the mainland, the rescue effort was initiated.
“We wouldn’t leave them behind.” Never would I abandon them. Never,” said Stepp as workers at the Malama Manu Sanctuary sought to gather the flock from many coops. “They will perish if they are not fed or given water.” I am unable to live with it.
The Hawaiian word for protect is “malama,” while the word for bird is “manu.”
Since Hurricane Ian struck, wildlife authorities have been donating food to the birds, but due to the collapsed bridge and the island’s lack of fuel, it will soon be difficult to get bananas, peanuts, and other eatables.
With wind gusts reaching 150 mph, Hurricane Ian pummeled Southwest Florida a week ago, blocking some highways and preventing access to islands. Dangerous flooding was caused by ocean surges and wind-driven rain.
The sanctuary owners corralled their flock of birds and crammed them inside their house in the days before the storm to protect them from the wrath of the elements.
You have no idea what we have gone through. Peratino remarked, “We had four feet of water in the home, damned-near drowned,” before breaking down in tears.
Peratino remarked, “To have every bird safe is a major task.” It’s very difficult to do, I mean. Therefore, the type of assistance we received has been priceless.
Many of the birds were saved from households where their care was no longer possible. A few are used in the breeding of uncommon species.
While many search and rescue operations have been centered on saving human lives, there have also been efforts to save animals.
Project Dynamo founder and director Bryan Stern claimed his crew had saved at least six dogs, three cats, and, before to Tuesday’s big rescue, three birds. Project Dynamo constructed four boats for the task.
Stern said before starting the rescue effort that “100 cages of parrots are going to blow out the water on our animal counts.”
James Judge, the owner of the boat “Slice of Life,” which commanded the tiny fleet of rescue boats, stated, “It’s been insane.”
“The sanctuary’s owners, Will and Laura, have their hearts and souls in the birds.” So they are dealing with their own hurricane-related sorrow and rebuilding their lives,’ Stern added. They lost a wide variety of items. Is losing even more the solution?
That was not going to happen, according to the group of volunteers.
The volunteers confined the birds in cages for a number of hours on Tuesday using nothing but nets and their bare hands.
The birds squawked and fluttered their wings as their keepers caged them, including rare king parrots (only two dozen pairs are maintained in the United States), cockatoos, and macaws.
Some whistled and chatted, some of them using verbal playfulness.
The proprietors of the refuge know Ghassan Abboud, a dentist from Chicago who runs a bird farm in West Palm Beach.
He gathered his resources to assist when he learned of their situation. He had envisioned hiring a small boat to transfer bird cages from Pine Island to a pier on the mainland, where an a/c trailer would take the birds across the Florida peninsula to his property.
However, by pure accident, he bumped upon the Project Dynamo crew, who had been volunteering to assist in the rescue of those trapped by floods and damaged roadways.
“I could never come up with a story like this.” It was flawless. I assumed I’d be traveling back in a little boat all day,’ Abboud added. “What these individuals did is beyond comprehension. They committed their assets. There were so many birds rescued.