Auction Marts Dealing With Increased Numbers

It's a busy time for livestock auction marts.

Harold Unrau is manager of Grunthal Livestock Auction Mart.

"We're starting to see more cattle rolling through the ring here, all because of drought of course. The further north you go, the worse the drought is. They're trying to figure out what they're going to do with their cattle because they're running out of pasture. We actually had some cattle in here from up at Fisher Branch because they are out of grass. Locally here, if we get a rain here this week or beginning of next week, I think our producers will kind of be okay, at least most of them. If we don't get a rain for the next week or two, they're going to be out of pasture and the hay is really in short supply."

Unrau says normally throughout the summer they see about 100 head a week. This year that number is around 300.

He adds they are currently gearing up for an early fall run.

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