2023 Texas dairy farm explosion

The South Fork Dairy Farm is a dairy production facility in Dimmitt, Texas, located in Castro County. The county is the second largest dairy-producer in the United States, with more than 147,000,000 pounds (67,000,000 kg) of dairy being produced in February 2023, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.[1] The facility encompasses an area more than 2,100,000 square feet (200,000 m²).[2] The county houses 30,000 cattle according to the 2021 Texas Annual Dairy Review.[3]

In 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality authorized the South Fork Dairy Farm to double the amount of cattle present at their facility, from 11,500 to 32,000. The permit also enabled the farm to increase manure production by 50%.[1] Immediately prior to the explosion, the facility was home to 19,000 cattle.[4] The vast majority of them were Holstein and Jersey cows.[5]

Local police stated that they received eight calls of the incident just before 7:30 p.m. (CST) on April 10, 2023.[6] Residents reported hearing a loud boom, followed by seeing a massive plume of smoke that could be seen billowing from miles away.[3] According to emergency services, callers mentioned that some employees were trapped in the milking building.[6]

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.[7][5]

Though callers stated that multiple employees were trapped, only one woman needed rescuing. She was flown to a Lubbock hospital.[8]

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.[9][5] The resulting fire was described by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as one of the deadliest fires involving animals and the deadliest cattle-related incident since the institute began records in 2013.[10] During that period, prior to the Dimmitt explosion, deaths of cows in barn fires had totalled 7,300.[11] The AWI has proceeded to plead to the United States federal government to implement laws aimed at reducing the number of animals that are killed in such accidents.[12]

According to Castro County judge Mandy Gfeller, each cow was worth around $2,000 USD. She stated that the financial losses, excluding the destruction of equipment and buildings, could amount to tens of millions of dollars.[13]

Castro County Sherriff Sal Rivera, the explosion was caused by a machine known as the "honey badger," which he described as a "vacuum that sucks the manure and water out". Authorities believe it may have overheated, igniting internal gasses such as methane.[14] 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 40 acres (16 ha) 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 could be seen miles away.[15]

The Texas Fire Marshal was investigating the cause of the fire as of April 2023, and Dairy Management Inc. stated that "we are deferring to the appropriate authorities to make that determination."[15]

Investigators at the Texas Fire Marshal's Office determined in May that the incident was accidental, and that it began with an engine fire in farm equipment being used to clean the barn.[16][17]

• Mass mortality event
• Barn fire

• Livia Albeck-Ripka (April 13, 2023). "About 18,000 Cattle Are Killed in Fire at Dairy Farm in Texas". The New York Times.
• Andrew Hay (April 13, 2023). "Over 18,000 cows die in Texas dairy farm blaze". Reuters.