When It Rains, It Pours, or Floods! 🌧️

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February 22, 2025

Spring is our favorite season.

There's nothing better than coming through a cold winter and seeing the signs of spring all around. The green grass emerges, and the red-winged blackbirds return with their song, and then there's flooding.

We receive most of our moisture for the entire year between December and March. Flooding is expected at this time of year. With the fluctuating temperatures, it can snow one day and rain the next. When you get snow and then rain on top of the snow, you experience the most significant flooding.

Although flooding is typical this time of year, predicting when and how it will impact our animals is always challenging. As we approach the first of March (when we begin calving), we become pretty anxious to move our cows off the meadow ground that is susceptible to flooding and onto the rangeland.

There's nothing worse for calving than not having a good, consistent, dry place for cows to calve.

After the last rainstorm, the weather appeared decent enough to gather the cows and take them to the rangeland or upper country. The range is the ideal spot for cows to calve. They have plenty of space to spread out and can find nice dry spots to lie down. The warm canyon walls promote rapid grass growth below, which is crucial for cows who are having babies!

On that beautiful day, we gathered all the cows, leaving the ones with baby calves behind, and headed out. Many of our cows are close to calving, so a nice, long, brisk walk is the perfect way to prepare them for calving.

We had to cross our swollen creek, but our good-ole cows led the way, for they knew green grass awaited them down in the canyons where they call home.

Our cows spend most of the year on the rangeland. When the range gets too snowy, they return to our meadows for two months. We process them through the chute to check each cow and ensure all the cattle are accounted for before they enjoy hay stored for winter for a few weeks before returning to the range. The cows know the range well and can navigate its vast expanse. We check on them frequently throughout the year and provide them with Redmond salt to meet their mineral needs.

Full 2026: Series on The Big Grass Fire "It Starts with a Spark!"

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Standing Together During the Big Grass Fire When wildfires threaten our communities, they don’t stop to ask whose land they’re on. They move quickly, changing lives in a matter of hours. But in rural communities like ours, something else moves just as quickly—neighbors stepping up to help neighbors. As the Big Grass Fire continues to impact parts of Idaho and Oregon, Sean Cunningham of Cunningham Pastured Meats has joined countless ranchers, volunteers, firefighters, and first responders working tirelessly to support those directly affected. But, in spite of the effort to mitigate the damages, the devastation is real to life and property. While the Cunningham ranch has not been directly impacted by the fire, Sean has been spending long days assisting neighboring ranchers whose grazing lands, livestock, fences, and livelihoods have been threatened. Whether helping protect cattle, building fire lines, moving equipment, or supporting firefighting efforts wherever needed, the work reflects something deeply rooted in ranching culture: when one neighbor is hurting, everyone shows up. With but a brief reunion with Sean after his 3 days of fire service. As you can imagine, while Sean is all smiles to finally be home for some much needed rest, tears were shed by the littles in his reunion with the family! As many of you know, Liz and Sean, while still only in their late 30s have seven children and one on the way. To date, Liz and Sean have spent days apart each taking on the role in their own capacity against the fires. Sean on the dozer in the field and Liz capturing the story in a digital war to garner the attention of news agencies like KTVB7, the Lt. Governor's office, the White House, electric company CEOs and others for much needed assistance and support for the communities who are now at the mercy of a rogue grass fire, The Big Grass Fire and simultaneous fires stretching thousands of acres throughout the Jordan Valley and beyond. That spirit of service and capitalizing on each person's strengths to wage the war against the fires is nothing new to ranchers. Across the West, ranchers have long been among the first to respond when wildfire strikes. Their knowledge of the land, equipment, water sources, and terrain often makes them invaluable partners alongside local, state, and federal fire crews. Many volunteer through Rangeland Fire Protection Associations, organizations that have become an essential part of wildfire response throughout Oregon and Idaho. These partnerships help firefighters respond more quickly while protecting communities, grazing lands, wildlife habitat, and homes. For ranching families, these fires aren’t simply headlines—they’re deeply personal. A single fire can erase years of stewardship, destroy fencing, eliminate forage needed to feed cattle, and disrupt generations of hard work. Yet even in the face of tremendous loss, ranchers continue helping one another because that’s simply what neighbors do. We are incredibly grateful to every firefighter, volunteer, dispatcher, law enforcement officer, ranch family, and community member working around the clock to protect lives and property. Their courage and commitment remind us that the strength of rural communities isn’t measured only by the land we steward—it’s measured by the people willing to stand together when it matters most. Please continue keeping the families directly affected by these fires in your thoughts and prayers. Recovery will take time, but our communities have always been built on resilience, compassion, and a willingness to lend a hand. As of Wednesday July 29, 2026 at 8 am the non-official update includes official agencies holding the line with the yellow circles area in the image below a wild card. With potential winds pushing north again, critical barriers may not be enough to hold the fire from encroaching on Silver City. The blue circled area on a post seen here with images is the most difficult to manage with juniper trees, canyons and rock formations making it difficult terrain to navigate intervention and support. See more details and images here From all of us at Cunningham Pastured Meats and Cliff’s Country Market, thank you to everyone serving on the front lines and behind the scenes. We are honored to stand alongside a community that continues to embody the very best of what it means to be neighbors helping neighbors. We continue to remain steadfast in prayer in the midst of a very active and devastating fire season.Click here to watch the Interview with Sean on KTVB7

Full 2026: 6 week series is housed here: real food, real health, and why quality meat matters

So as we step into 2026, we’re beginning a 6-week educational series to share what we know, what we’ve learned on the ranch, and why how your food is raised matters just as much as what you eat. We’re starting with the foundation. Why Protein Matters—Now More Than Ever. Discover the entire 6 week series here!

Why Beef Prices Are Rising Across America — The Full Cunningham Ranch 6-Week Series

This 6-part series breaks down the real reasons beef prices are rising across America — from retiring ranchers and shrinking cattle herds to land-use changes, disease threats, and extreme consolidation in the meatpacking industry. Each email in the series explains a different pressure facing ranchers today and how these issues ultimately impact consumers. Most importantly, it highlights why supporting small, local, transparent producers matters now more than ever.

When It Rains, It Pours, or Floods! 🌧️

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