“I was shocked. Some cows were still alive and couldn’t move…”
When I rushed to a coworker’s cowshed that had collapsed due to the earthquake, I was unable to do anything to help the cows that were trapped under it.
Also, the cowshed on my own farm was damaged. Water outages continue. With neither space nor manpower, we decided to let go of about 40 dairy cows.
“I want people to be aware of this kind of damage,” said a livestock farmer in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
Karakasa-cho, Suzu City First to go to the ranch after evacuation
Tetsuro Matsuda (35), who runs a ranch in Karakasa-cho, Suzu City, was in an area near the sea in the city when the earthquake occurred.
His wife and three children live at home in Kanazawa City, and he lives in Suzu City, where he has a ranch.
On the evening of New Year’s Day, I was driving back to the ranch from Kanazawa. A sudden big tremor. The first thing that came to mind was the ranch, the employees and the cows.
After immediately evacuating to higher ground and confirming that no tsunami was coming to the area, we drove to a ranch about 20 minutes away.
I drove as far as I could and then walked.
One cow shed was destroyed by the earthquake.
When we arrived at the ranch, we found that one of the four cow sheds was leaning.
Mr. Tetsuro Matsuda
“I thought the cowshed was going to collapse soon, so I hurried to get the cows outside.”
The building was damaged, but the employees and cattle were unharmed.
Mr. Tetsuro Matsuda
“I’m glad that my employees and the cows were safe.Cows are resistant to cold, so they’re grazing right now.However, I’m worried that some of the cows don’t want to come out, probably because they were afraid of the earthquake.”
Other farms in the area
Meanwhile, another rancher’s ranch in the same area suffered severe damage. A cowshed on a farm housing 30 dairy cows had collapsed, and the cows were trapped underneath.
The road leading from the ranch to the city center was impassable due to landslides, leaving the rancher stranded. A few days later, he was rescued by a Self-Defense Force helicopter and left the ranch with great regret.
rancher man
“There were several animals still alive when they were trapped under the ground, so I was frustrated that I couldn’t save them, so I thought maybe I could take them out somehow, but of course I can’t interfere with rescue efforts in a situation like this…”
Mr. Matsuda also visited the ranch on foot, but was unable to do anything to help at that time.
Mr. Matsuda
“I was in shock. Some of the cows were crushed and trapped and were still alive. I thought about what I could do, but the road was already cut off and there was nothing I could do.”
Since then, road closures have continued, making it impossible for people to go to rescue the cows, and it is believed that almost all the cows have died.
Cows are left without power and water supply
Meanwhile, the house near the ranch where Mr. Matsuda lived was also leaning and the door could no longer be closed.
Mr. Matsuda
“I didn’t think about evacuating because there were cows.”
In order to continue caring for the cows despite the disaster, Mr. Matsuda decided to put a futon in a container that was being used as an office at the ranch and live there.
At the farm, which has about 100 Japanese black cows and dairy cows, the milking machine that milks the cows was unable to be used due to the power outage.
Mr. Matsuda
“If cows are unable to milk for a long time, they develop a disease known as mastitis, which humans refer to as mastitis.At this farm, one-third of the cows develop mastitis and run a fever. I received medicine from the veterinarian, and three days later a generator was turned on and we were able to save his life.”
When the cow says “I’m thirsty”
The power outage was resolved on January 18th, but water outages have continued since then.
Raising cattle requires a large amount of water, but this water is not available. According to Matsuda, a cow that produces a lot of milk may drink 100 liters of water a day.
Therefore, I built my own equipment to store spring water from the mountain in a tank. However, because it is winter and the temperature is low, there are days when the amount of spring water is low.
Mr. Matsuda
“My cow keeps croaking, saying, “I’m thirsty.” My cow croaks when it wants to express something. It’s been croaking since morning because we don’t have enough water. I can’t get enough of the spring water. I don’t drink much water. I’m in trouble because I don’t have it.”
Cleaning the machines used to sterilize expressed milk also requires a lot of water.
Mr. Matsuda
“Right now, we don’t have water, so we throw away all the milk except for the milk we give to the calves. We’re milking and throwing away, milking and throwing away, and it makes me wonder what I’m doing.”
make a tough decision
In addition, employees who worked at the ranch were also affected by the disaster, and some have left the ranch to live as evacuees.
With a lack of space and manpower, it is difficult to continue raising cattle in the current manner. Mr. Matsuda had no choice but to let go of all 40 dairy cows.
Mr. Matsuda
“The cowshed that could hold 30 cows was damaged, so we had to reduce the number of cows by 30.We raise dairy cows and Japanese black cows, but because we don’t have clean water right now, we can’t ship the milk. I can’t make any money from raising dairy cows, so that’s what I’m planning to do now. I can’t let go of the cows I’ve raised, or rather, I have nowhere to vent my anger…”
Even if they tried to sell their cows, there are now many businesses that have suffered the same disaster and are considering letting go of their cattle, so it is difficult to decide on a vendor or transport company to deliver the cows.
Mr. Matsuda
“Right now, I’m trying to let go of the cows, but there’s a waiting list for the companies that carry them, so I haven’t been able to get them out yet.” I don’t have any desire to keep her.Actually, if I could keep her, I’d like to keep her at home.”
In the days of heavy decisions
While being forced to make a heavy decision, there was a moment when Mr. Matsuda smiled with relief.
Two days after the earthquake, while I was busy cleaning up the barn and taking care of the cows, I suddenly noticed that a calf had been born.
“Thank you for growing up even in times like these.”
Mr. Matsuda said this as he stroked the mother cow’s nose.
There was also activity at a ranch in the same area where a rancher had evacuated after 30 cows were trapped under one. The other day, Mr. Matsuda, in cooperation with the government, rescued a calf that had remained on the farm.
Mr. Matsuda
“The government took action, and we were able to rescue just one cow the other day. We put it in a big bag, slid it across the snow, and dragged it. Of course we were happy, but the cows we couldn’t save… There were so many that it was overwhelming, so I couldn’t say anything.”
The rescued calf is being carefully raised at the evacuation site by a male rancher who evacuated.
“We’ll do our best for the cows.”
Mr. Matsuda, who is from Tsubata Town in Ishikawa Prefecture, started a ranch in Suzu eight years ago because he was drawn to the splendid scenery of Suzu City.
In order to somehow continue our business, we are appealing to the public to learn about the situation and seek the necessary support.
Mr. Matsuda
“What we need is water. I would like to request that the water supply be repaired as soon as possible. We are in serious need of support, so I would like to ask for your help. Anyway, right now, I am focusing on the cows, and that is all I can do. This is the situation. However, I still want to continue the business. I can’t rest at all, but I feel like I have to do my best for this cow.”
(Tetsuko Nagata, Noto Peninsula earthquake reporting team)
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Please send us information about the current situation in the disaster-stricken areas, such as what you are missing during your evacuation life, concerns about your health, and concerns about rebuilding your life.
2024-01-29 10:11:41
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