The Rise of the Ranch King

Chapter 175 174. Foot and mouth disease crisis

In the large warehouse, David and Charlie were busy doing finishing work, carefully checking every corner to make sure nothing was missed.

There were several loaded trucks parked at the door, and the Indian drivers waved.

The hay was piled as high as a hill, neatly bundled, and covered with a tarpaulin to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

"Where is the BOSS?" David looked around and asked doubtfully.

"He's allergic to grass and should still be hanging out." Charlie replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Feng came back leisurely on horseback, his figure looking particularly tall in the sunset.

"Is it all installed?" Lin Feng asked.

"Well, BOSS, what should we do next?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said: "Buy a tractor and a forklift, which will be used sooner or later. In addition, we will cut 200 tons of grass in the next few days."

"Haha, that's great." David laughed.

It is mainly targeted at calves aged 4 to 6 months, which have a relatively high mortality rate. Adult cattle are relatively more resistant.

But there is no need to worry too much about foot-and-mouth disease. Since the well water from Small World was used for irrigation, the livestock on the pasture have basically not been sick.

You must take immediate action now to prevent the spread of the epidemic in your own ranches.

When I was about to untie the rope of the boat, I suddenly saw a dark thing floating on the lake not far away.

Lin Feng took a long breath and said, "You guys get busy first, I'll go somewhere else. I've been working hard these days, and I'll treat you to a drink in a few days."

"Check all the cattle and sheep tomorrow to see if we have any infections. Also, call Jorge and don't let the cars from the reservation come over for the next few days. We have to take preventive measures."

As long as foot-and-mouth disease is properly controlled, there is no problem. The main concern is that large-scale infection will become more troublesome.

"BOSS, someone from the Animal Husbandry Bureau just called and asked if there is any situation in our pasture. Foot-and-mouth disease has recently been discovered in the pasture area."

Foot and mouth disease?

Although there is no obvious seasonality in the spread of this disease, it is more common in spring and autumn, especially in spring. Wind and birds are also factors in long-distance spread.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a common disease in animals, mainly cattle and sheep.

Lin Feng instantly became serious and asked, "When did it happen?"

When livestock infectious diseases occur, self-isolation of pastures is the best approach.

There are many more cattle than people in pastoral areas. Once the infection spreads, it will quickly spread to many pastures.

It's hard to see clearly from a distance, it looks like a corpse!

Lin Feng went to Jingjing Lake and wanted to get chess from the island in the middle of the lake. His father said that he would play a few games with him after dinner tonight.

Charlie told him a bolt from the blue.

Charlie said: "Just yesterday, a ranch not far from us was blocked."

Lin Feng knew that foot-and-mouth disease is a viral infectious disease with high mutation rate. Even if you have been vaccinated before, you may be infected by the new virus.

His voice is powerful.

"No problem, BOSS."

His scalp instantly became numb, and Lin Feng quickly pulled out his pistol and alerted his surroundings.

When I got closer, I felt happy and saw seven or eight otters gathering together to fish.

WTF.

These little guys are not big, but their movements are extremely flexible. They are very busy jumping up and down in the water.

One of the otters seemed to have spotted Lin Feng. He stared at it warily for a few times, and then disappeared into the water with a pop.

The few remaining otters fled away after seeing this, and in a blink of an eye there were only circles of ripples left on the lake. These little guys are quite vigilant.

Otters eat fish, and I hope they can help clean up the overflowing carp, but if there are only a few of them, I'm afraid they will only eat more and more.

The air on the island in the middle of the lake is fresh and pleasant, surrounded by green trees, and it looks like a peach blossom garden when spring comes.

Lin Feng's mood also became happy. He found the chess set in the cabin.

Just as I was about to lie down and take a rest, the phone rang again.

Still Charlie.

"BOSS, someone from the Quarantine Bureau just called again, saying that foot-and-mouth disease has spread to several pastures, and they are organizing personnel to isolate and cull them."

So fast?

Lin Feng frowned when he heard this. He didn't expect the foot-and-mouth disease to spread so quickly.

This is troublesome. If the epidemic is not controlled in time, the livestock in the entire pastoral area may suffer.

Next month will be the first livestock slaughter period of the year. If the epidemic cannot be controlled, beef prices will plummet.

"Have the people from the Quarantine Bureau said what they will do specifically?" Lin Feng asked in a deep voice.

"They plan to send people to help us build isolation zones to separate infected livestock from healthy livestock, and then treat mildly infected animals, and directly cull and harmlessly treat serious ones." Charlie replied.

"I see."

He knew the seriousness of foot-and-mouth disease, but this incident seemed strange.

Each ranch is at least four to five kilometers to dozens of kilometers apart. How could the infection spread so quickly?

Lin Feng is a person who likes to think too much. He hopes that this time it has nothing to do with developers who have always been eyeing land in pastoral areas.

On the way back, Lin Feng's thoughts were racing.

The setting sun has sunk below the horizon, leaving only a faint afterglow on the horizon.

As he galloped on the grassland on horseback, the heavy pressure on his heart prevented him from appreciating this rare moment of tranquility.

I hope this time will not turn into the massive flood disaster thirteen years ago, which ultimately led to the bankruptcy of a large number of ranches.

Back at the big warehouse, Charlie and David were packing up.

Seeing Lin Feng was like meeting a savior. This young man seemed to have become their backbone.

"Boss, why don't we check it first tonight? If there is really a problem, get in front of the quarantine bureau and do something in advance. Those people will not show mercy." Charlie said.

Lin Feng waved his hand, "No need for now, have a good sleep tonight, and we'll talk about it tomorrow morning."

The Quarantine Bureau is an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, and it will take some time for them to arrive from Helena. Besides, the civil servants here are not that dedicated and would not be happy to work overtime at night.

After letting David and Charlie go back to rest, Lin Feng took Wayne to the grassland to check the cattle and sheep.

Wearing gloves, you can feel the physical condition of the livestock through the touch of your own hands, and the results are pretty good after one lap.

Not a single cow was infected, and a few sheep were randomly checked, but there were no problems.

Lin Feng called Jasmine's father. He is the president of the Animal Husbandry Committee and should have some inside information.

But the news that came was like a dark humor. Their family became the hardest hit area of ​​​​the disaster. Herds of cattle in the pasture fell ill and lay helplessly on the ground.

Dr. Edmund is busy running through them, trying to think of ways to treat those poor guys. I'm afraid he will have to stay up late to fight again tonight.

The Cassidy's livestock are also starting to show symptoms, and although the symptoms appear to be mild so far, no one can predict what will happen next.

Meanwhile, the McClung family's peaceful grass ranch has been spared for the time being, but the family's cattle are running low.

This silent storm was so fierce that the ranchers in Riverdale Town had no time to react and were caught off guard.

(End of this chapter)