[gtojohn]

Steve, I feel for you! I bet you were more prepared than many. Also, sounds like you were doing all the work! Most people don't realize how much fuel generators go through plus how much fuel you have to keep on hand,and properly storing it if you don't use it. My experience with diesel generators is you can get better economy with less load, vs gas and propane they tend to use about the same fuel no matter 1/2 or full load. In this area we use a lot of cisterns above ground to help well pump run and recovery time, or power outage. Depending on the amount of cattle maybe a 330 gallon ibc tote could have saved some pumping. Depending on the location of your freezers, maybe they wouldn't run as much when its cold. Even though in this country we can pretty much count on our utilities +99% of the year, our grid could fall apart after a few minor failures (2003 Northeastern blackout, 1996 Northwest, 2011 Texas, 1989 Quebec from solar flares). Obviously with your ranch you have a lot to gain from being prepared and a lot on the line if you're not. Most people's attention spans aren't long enough to stay prepared for something that only happens once every couple of years. I never worried much about emergency plans until becoming a father, now its my responsibility.