Preparedness and Response to the 2021 Winter Storm Uri by Texas Dairy Farmers

The care and productivity of dairy cattle can be negatively impacted by severe natural disasters such as winter storms, drought, flood, tornado, blizzards etc. necessitating a preparedness strategy. The purpose of this study was to better understand the crisis preparedness and response of Texas dairy farmers as impacted by 2021 winter storm Uri in Texas. The study design was phenomenological with interviews using an open-ended semi-structured questionnaire chosen as the appropriate data collection method for eliciting their lived experience and impact from the 2021 winter storm Uri. A total of eight commercial dairy farmers who have been active in the last ten years participated in this study. The resulting data were analyzed using general inductive analysis which aided in understanding meaningful conceptual information through the development of summary themes and categories. Collectively, the participants are posed with the uncertainty challenges on the frequency and severity of the natural disasters including impacts on farm labor, power, and the ability of processing plants to receive their milk as they face crises of their own during such weather events. The participants relied on their local network of farmers and weather information before and during the event but often felt neglected in governmental resources during and following the crisis event. Further research is of necessity to investigate how this work translates to a wider range of dairy farmers and the role of local government and other dairy industry stakeholders in the implementation, and practices of natural of disaster management plans in Texas dairy farms.