Dairy farm reeling after Ian causes death of 200 cows, facilities damage

Dakin Dairy Farms of Myakka City suffered huge losses from Hurricane Ian, including the death of approximately 200 cows.

Courtney Dakin, a tour manager at Dakin Dairy Farms in east Manatee County, says many of the lost livestock were calves and the farm still is counting total losses. She says there are currently about 5,000 cows on the property, and about 3,000 of those have no water because of power outages. Many cows are sick with pneumonia due to prolonged exposure to weather conditions during the storm.

The farm also received severe damage to its facilities including its cattle barns and tour barn.