Snow collapses poultry houses in Lincoln County

STAR CITY, Ark. — A week of rising temperatures will give those in Arkansas agriculture a window to assess damage and losses caused by a week of record cold and snowfall.

The National Weather Service at Little Rock said snowfall totals for Feb. 14-18 ranged from 6 inches to more than 22 inches. The heaviest snow fell in a band from Texarkana to just east of Stuttgart. Temperatures dived into single digits and below zero in many parts of the state, with Fayetteville seeing a reading of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

High temperatures for the week of Feb. 21 were expected to rise to nearly 60 degrees in some parts of the state.

Matthew Davis, Jackson County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division, said the effects of the deep freeze will be felt across multiple aspects of agriculture.

“The next week or so will be a time of assessment; seeing what needs to be done for everyone,” he said.

“Wet and muddy conditions appear to be sticking around for some time,” he said. “Even with snow melting we have rain in the forecast, so any row crop work will be delayed into the first of March looking at the extended forecast.”

Heavy snow caused disruptions along interstates in Arkansas and stopped traffic along many rural routes, bringing supply runs to a halt.

“Trucks are several days behind now causing essential items to be in short supply for both humans and animals,” said Davis.

Amy Greenwalt Tallent, Prairie County extension agent, and her family saw this firsthand.

“Due to the pile-up on I-40, which was at a standstill for about 12 hours, and which runs through our farm, truck drivers were looking for alternate routes. Their trusty GPS took them on Highway 249,” she said.

Arkansas 249 route runs between I-40 and U.S. 70 via several 90 degree turns and happens to run through their family farm.

“Two 18-wheelers were stuck overnight on these roads,” Tallent said. “My dad, Eric Greenwalt, was making his morning circle (through the farm) and came upon them. So, he and my husband, Chad Tallent, along with a county deputy, pulled them to U.S. 70 with a tractor so they could be on their way.

“If they would have had to wait on a wrecker to pull them out it would have been late last night because of the need for them on the interstate,” she said. “We tend to have to do this during any snow event that stops the interstate, but we are always glad to help out!”

The heavy snow that came with a second round of winter weather proved too much for some poultry houses in southeastern Arkansas.

Lincoln County extension staff chair Steve Stone said the snow crushed the roofs of several poultry houses in his county. The website searkweather.com also reported the Cornerville Fire Department being called to a poultry house that collapsed and caught fire on Wednesday.