Feed Stores See Increase In Customers As Ranchers Prepare For Cold Snap

Feed stores across Green Country are busy as farmers and ranchers get ready for the cold snap coming this weekend.

A feed store in Tulsa says straw to keep animals warm is a popular item right now.

Folks at Lee’s Country Store say they've been extra busy the last few days, with people stopping by to stock up before the cold weather arrives.

Keeping horses fed and healthy is an important job on a normal day, and it's vital when weather plans to take a turn for the worse.

"Definitely the water, they need to fed the right way, they need to keep that fat on them," Ethan Fallis said.

Fallis says when you throw in freezing temps like the ones forecasted for the coming days, the lives of animals are at stake.

"They honestly drop like flies if you don't keep a close eye on them," he said.

To keep critters big and small safe in bad weather, the staff at Lee's Country Store is staying busy, helping its customers with everything from firewood to feed.

"They want to buy straw; they want to buy feed,” Andrea Malone said. “Ya know, they want to take care of the animals before it gets cold."

Malone does a little bit of everything at the feed store and says a popular item this week is straw to keep animals warm. 

"We sold probably around 25 bales today, and we’re selling more tonight because we've had people calling all day long looking for straw," she said.

Everyone around the store is a little busier with the cold weather coming, but they say they're doing all they can to help customers keep their animals safe.

"It's getting really busy,” Fallis said. “It's definitely getting harder, but we got a good team out here, so we're doing pretty good."

The folks at Lee’s Country Store say another item they’re selling a lot of is heaters to keep water troughs from freezing over, a common problem livestock owners face in the cold.