An explosion occurred on April 10, 2023, at the South Fork Dairy Farm about south of

Dimmitt, Texas Dimmitt ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Castro County, Texas, United States. Its population was 4,171 at the 2020 census. History Dimmitt is located on the old Ozark Trail, a road system from St. Louis, Missouri, to El Paso, Texas. ...

, United States. The explosion and subsequent fire killed approximately 18,000

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

s and injured one person. It was one of the deadliest fires involving animals, and the deadliest fire involving cattle in at least a decade. It wiped out 3% of

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

in Texas.

Background

The South Fork

Dairy Farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

is a dairy production facility located in

Castro County, Texas Castro County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,371. Its county seat is Dimmitt. The county was named for Henri Castro, who was consul general to France for the Republic of Texas and ...

about south of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Dimmitt. The county is the second largest dairy-producer in the United States, with more than of dairy being produced in February 2023, according to the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

. The county houses 30,000 cattle according to the 2021 Texas Annual Dairy Review. The facility encompassed an area more than . In 2019, the

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the environmental agency for the state of Texas. The commission's headquarters are located at 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin. The fourth-largest environmental agency in the United States ...

authorized the South Fork Dairy Farm to double the amount of cattle present at their facility, from 11,500 to 23,000. The permit also enabled the farm to increase

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nut ...

production by 50%. Immediately before the explosion, the facility was home to 19,000 cattle. The vast majority of them were

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

and Jersey cows.

Explosion

Local police stated that they received eight calls of the incident just before 7:30 p.m. ( CST) on April 10, 2023. Reports were of a loud boom, followed a massive plume of smoke that could be seen billowing from miles away. According to emergency services, it was stated that some employees were trapped in the milking building. After an initial explosion, a fire broke out which spread swiftly across an area of holding pens. Thousands of cattle were packed together in tight conditions in the pens; as a result, the vast majority of them were killed. Though callers feared that multiple employees were trapped, only one woman needed rescuing. She was flown to a hospital in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

Aftermath

The explosion and subsequent fire killed approximately 18,000 cattle, equivalent to around 20% of the cattle slaughtered in the United States on a regular day. It killed almost 3% of the dairy cattle population in Texas. The resulting fire was described by the

Animal Welfare Institute The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is an American non-profit charitable organization founded by Christine Stevens in 1951 with the goal of reducing suffering inflicted on animals by humans. It is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in ...

(AWI) as one of the deadliest fires involving animals and the deadliest cattle-related incident since the institute began records in 2013. Prior to the Castro County explosion, deaths of cows in barn fires had totaled 7,300 over that ten-year period. The AWI has proceeded to plead to the

United States federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

to implement laws aimed at reducing the number of animals that are exposed to such accidents. According to Castro

County judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...

Mandy Gfeller, each cow was worth around . She stated that the financial losses, excluding the destruction of equipment and buildings, could amount to tens of millions of dollars.

Potential cause

Shortly after the fire, Sal Rivera from the Castro County

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

's Office said that the explosion could have been caused by a machine known as the "

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed across Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only living species in both the genus ''Mellivora'' and the subfami ...

," which he described as a "vacuum that sucks the manure and water out". Authorities believe it may have overheated, igniting internal gases such as

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

. The term ''honey badger'' was later clarified as being called a ''honey vac.'' Additional speculation included the possibility that the barns might have been fitted with non-fire-resistant insulation that would have enabled the explosion to ignite a fire that would spread across the facility. In addition, being large cross-ventilated barns (which is of benefit to cows) meant that hundreds of fans could exhaust smoke, resulting in a massive smoke cloud that was visible from miles around.

Fire marshal's finding

Dairy Management Inc. stated that "We are deferring to the appropriate authorities to determine the cause." Investigators from the Texas Fire Marshal's Office determined in May 2023 that the incident was accidental and that it began with an engine fire in farm equipment being used to clean the barn, specifically a 'manure vacuum truck'. After the operator was unable to drive the burning truck clear of the barn, he had tried to put out the fire in the truck using two extinguishers, to no avail.

Background

Explosion

Aftermath

Potential cause

Fire marshal's finding

See also

References

Further reading