Holding an armful of hay, Bao Suozhu walked into the livestock shelter to feed his sheep and cows. Although the snow in late November did not cause many losses, his face was still frowning.

"The hay was preserved for the Spring Festival for lambing, but now I have to start using it because of the snow," said Bao, a herdsman in Hinggan League (Prefecture), a pasture region about 1,500 kilometers northeast of the capital Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.

The snow fell on the League's county-level Horqin Right Front Banner at the China-Mongolia border 40 days earlier than usual , and was the heaviest in 30 years. Snow has accumulated up to 30 centime-ters deep in most part s of the region , and 50 centimeters in some areas, disrupting the lives of more than 47,600 people here.

Herdsmen like Bao believe hardships are waiting ahead.

Bao said the grass was sparse due to the drought this summer, and the maize straw that had been planted could barely help the livestock survive the winter.

"Now that the snow came much earlier, things would become much harder," he said.

Although he made nearly 90,000 yuan ($13,500) in the fall while selling cashmere, he still had no extra money to buy more feed as he had to repay bank loans and pay tuition for his two children.

Xie Chunlin, deputy chief of agricultural and animal husbandry for the county, said there was about two months' feed uncovered for the county, which was 100 million kilos in quantity. "The snow has had a huge impact on people's lives," Xie said.

Arimuhexige, another herdsman at the Manzutun Gacha who raised more than 300 sheep and 50 cows, said he found himself making no profits as extra feed cost him all his savings from the past year.

"We can endure the hardship for being herdsmen, but we are afraid of natural disas-ters," he added.

The Inner Mongolia Development Bank allocated 30 million yuan ($4.5 million) as disaster relief loans.

Further, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region issued a circular Monday, earmarking a 25 million yuan ($3.7 million) relief fund.

The city government of Erdos, the richest city in the region, also donated 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) to the Hinggan League for feedstuff.