More than 30 cattle missing from Perry Township farm

By Patrick Varine
Trib Total Media
A Perry Township farmer is asking for help trying to find more than 30 cattle that left their enclosure when a gate was left open over the weekend.
“The utility companies were up in our hay field repairing poles, and either West Penn Power or one of their contractors left the gate open,” said Stormy Gower, owner of Thundering Hill Farm on Zias Road in Fayette County. “Our cows in that field got out along with our horse and donkey.”
Gower said the horse and donkey were found several miles away along Route 51. The Hereford cattle have not been seen.
“They’re just gone,” Gower said. “There’s 32 missing, moms and babies, and a couple mid-sized heifers and bull calves.”
Several calls have come in about roaming cattle following storm damage, “but so far none have been ours,” Gower said. “There are a lot of older farmers around me, and I’m worried that one of them maybe penned them up just being helpful, but doesn’t have social media. That’s my best guess.”
Gower is a first-generation farmer whose main business is hay. She said she has gotten into cattle recently and used to raise rabbits.
“I was up at the Westmoreland Fair, picking up some of my rabbits, when I found out about it,” she said.
With cattle prices high and some regional auctions coming up, Gower said she’s hoping to find her herd sooner rather than later.
“One thing I don’t want is for anyone to criticize the power company,” she said. “They have a liaison involved who has been helping me a lot. They helped me get in touch with the vendors that use the access road. It was an accident and for now, they’re taking responsibility for it.”
Anyone who sees the red and white Hereford cows in the area is asked to call Thundering Hill Farm at 724-323-3762 or reach out via their Facebook page, Facebook.com/Thunderinghillfarm.