There hasn’t been a lot of rain this summer, and high prices for hay have pressured cattle ranchers into selling cattle earlier than usual.
Drought conditions have been reported across our area for more than a month.
Despite a little rain in our area recently, most of the four state area is experiencing either very dry or drought conditions, which has affected ranchers’ ability to keep cows fed and watered.
Due to drought, the USDA found U.S. cattle numbers fell below 100 million, the lowest inventory level since 2015.
Because of the drought conditions, there has been a significant increase in cattle sales.
Cattle inventories have been decreasing since 2019 nationally, and as supplies get tighter, prices will increase to reflect tighter supplies.
Ranchers having to sell more cows than they expected is not necessarily a good thing.
Agriculture experts say it’s important now more than ever for ranchers to use sustainable practices to build resiliency and help them handle dry years.
Ranchers typically allow their cattle to continuously graze on a pasture, but this can lead to overgrazing, which can result in farmers having to purchase more hay during a drought.
The heat burns the grass that herds would generally consume. Hay production is down for the year in many places, and inflation isn’t helping. That leaves farmers with two options: purchase feed, or sell the cattle.
More and more farmers are choosing to sell.
If herd size and breeding cows drop in number, beef prices could swell for consumers over the next two years.
Ground beef prices have now increased 12% since this time last year, which is higher than the current inflation rate for the United States, which currently stands at 9.1%.