South Dakota ranchers deliver hay to Nebraska wildfire zone

Convoy from Platte marks first shipment in ongoing relief effort after grassland fires

A crowd gathers in the Platte Livestock Market parking lot on Monday, April 20, 2026, as a convoy of hay trucks prepares to depart for Arthur, Nebraska, to support wildfire relief efforts. (Photo courtesy of South Central Cattlemen’s Association)

PLATTE — Headlights cut through the early morning darkness Monday as a line of trucks idled outside the Platte Livestock Market, each one loaded with hay and ready for the road.

By 8 a.m., 10 trucks driven by farmers and ranchers from Charles Mix County and surrounding areas were on their way to Arthur, Nebraska, delivering much-needed feed to a region still recovering from a series of wildfires that scorched nearly a million acres of grassland earlier this year.

The delivery marked the first hay shipment organized by the South Central Cattlemen’s Association as part of the ongoing Nebraska Fire Relief effort.

Tails and nest predator program changes