The McNeese State University farm is serving as a distribution center for feed and hay for area cattle that were evacuated or flooded and stranded in Calcasieu and Cameron Parish after Hurricane Ike. McNeese farm employee Thomas Litteral, in the tractor, student Kyndal Comeaux, white T-shirt, and farm manager Darrin Goodwin unload some of the more than 36 tons of feed donated for area cattlemen. McNeese photo/Courtesy of Barney Haney

The McNeese State University farm is serving as a distribution center for feed and hay for area cattle that were evacuated or flooded and stranded in Calcasieu and Cameron Parish after Hurricane Ike.

As donations roll in from all over the state, farm manager Darrin Goodwin said his staff and McNeese students, along with Calcasieu and Cameron agents from the Louisiana State University Agriculture Centers, have been working around the clock to dispense hay and feed to cattlemen to help them feed their livestock until the waters recede from submerged pastures.

"Since Ike hit, four truck loads of hay and 36 tons of feed - all donations - have been hauled in by the state Department of Agriculture to the MSU farm," said Goodwin. "In the past two weeks, we've distributed feed and hay among 50 cattlemen for 1,500 heads of cattle. We've also directed some of the trucks to West Calcasieu areas, including Vinton and Carlyss, so those cattlemen wouldn't have to travel to pick up their feed and hay."

Goodwin said the saltwater from Ike's storm surge has killed most of the grass in area pastures and efforts are now being made to find other pastures until a good rain can flush out the floodwaters. "However, we will continue to serve as a distribution center until the pastures recover."

Since Hurricane Ike hit, four truck loads of hay have been donated to the McNeese State University farm to distribute to area cattlemen to help feed their livestock until waters recede from submerged pastures. Farm manager Darrin Goodwin loads a bale of hay onto a waiting cattleman's trailer. McNeese photo/Courtesy of Barney Haney

According to Dr. Chip LeMieux, head of the McNeese Harold and Pearl Dripps Department of Agricultural Sciences, the farm also served as a distribution site for feed and hay in addition to fence supplies, including posts and wire, after Hurricane Rita. His department oversees the 500-acre McNeese farm, which is one of three working farms within the department.

"The local agriculture community needed help after these two storms and we were able to provide facilities and services to meet those needs," said LeMieux.