Farms.com Home  › News

Drought Forcing Ranchers to Sell Livestock

Sonoma County's rolling hills may be emerald green right now, but the region is still in "extreme drought," per the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The ongoing drought is making it harder for California ranchers to provide water for livestock, forcing some to downsize their herds.

Loren Poncia the co-owner of Stemple Creek Ranch near Tomales in Marin County.  

"We sold quite a few mama cows and we moved a lot of cattle off of our ranches to other places further north in other parts of the state that had water," Poncia said.

Drought forcing ranchers to sell livestock

He said last month's historic rain storm that deluged Northern California with several inches of rain has brought about a reprieve from downsizing herds.

"Now that it has rained and we are starting to have some stock water and we actually got a pretty decent start to the grass growing, we've brought most of those cattle back home."

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Will USDA 'Save the Day' in Corn + U S Post Midterm Election Ag Impact

Video: Will USDA 'Save the Day' + U S Post Midterm Election Ag Impact

Will the 2026 USDA November crop report redeem itself after a shocking higher U.S. 2026 corn yield in October?
The Democrats taking control of Congress and the Senate was not on anyone’s bingo card except ours!
The AI stock selloff knee jerk reaction over Dem’s looking to slow done the AI build out is a gift!
The Dems will now try to reign in Trump on the Iran war, tariffs (first 100 days tariffs on Canada could be removed), immigration and the corruption in the Trump administration. E15 and a new farm bill in 2027 may struggle with gridlock in Washington.
Does China walk away with U.S. ag trade as Trump has lost leverage? China to buy more U.S. ag but hinges on U.S. tariff reductions? Hang Tung Resources signs $600 million China agreement of U.S. wheat and sorghum.
Crude oil plunges 8%.
U.S. Midwest soil moisture profile is a concern.
Brazil looks wet in the next 10 days.
Hogs to new contract lows.
+ CFTC