The biggest loss and immediate concern from the weekend blizzard in the northern Panhandle appears to be livestock.

Region 23 Emergency Management Director Nan Gould Monday asked farmers and ranchers in Dawes and Sioux counties  to call her office in Chadron to help the loss assessment process by reporting how many animals they’d lost to help.

Tuesday morning, Gould said the number was in the 700 to 800 range, but “there are so many that they haven’t been able to get to yet’ so I think that’s a low-ball number.”

Whitney area rancher and Nebraska Farm Bureau board member Shelly Thompson says many ranchers don’t know yet how many animals they’ve lost, so she also expects the number to keep climbing.

“They’re still trying to get to a lot of the cattle and then need to decide what to do…and without having insurance, they’re really going to need some help.”

Animal carcasses can be disposed of by a rendering plant, but the only in the Panhandle…Platte Valley Pet Food in Scottsbluff…and is expected to reach its maximum on Wednesday…if not before.

They can also be disposed of at the SWANN…Solid Waste Agency of Northwest Nebraska…landfill 15 miles north of Chadron off Highway 385, but SWANN executive director Jack Nemeth says the number expected is too big for the landfill to handle and still remain in compliance with state rules.

Instead, SWANN is working with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality on an alternative, a mass burial trench next to the landfill. Nemeth says it doesn’t have the same level of regulations as the landfill, so he’s optimistic of getting approval almost immediate and starting construction shortly after.

Ranchers can also bury carcasses on their own property as long as they’re covered by a least 4-feet of earth, and there is an on-site decomposition option. Information on both of those is available the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.