U.S. Drought Crisis Leaving Beef Cattle Pastures High and Dry

Pasture Stress Impacting 71% of Nations Beef Cows

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The U.S. drought crisis is hitting beef cattle ranchers hard, in fact 71 per cent of the country’s beef cows are located in states that are rated under poor or very poor pasture conditions. Pasture fields are just not holding up due to the lack of rain for weeks and in some cases months on end. The loss of forage and hay is making it a tough go for beef farmers.  The less than desirable conditions are forcing producers to sell off early feeder cattle and major cow culling. With little to no feed available, some beef farmers just can’t hold on any longer and beef herd liquidations are becoming apparent as the drought situation worsens.

For those beef producers who are able to hold on through these tough times, they will play an important role in meeting the demand for beef as supplies will be hard to come by. The 2012 calf crop report is down two percent and feeder supplies are down 3.3 percent from last year. Right now the drought is the key factor dominating the cattle markets, but some experts predict that once the worst of the drought has been lifted the demand for beef will be the leading catalyst driving the markets. Consumer beef demands domestically and abroad will be a vital force impacting U.S. cattle prices.