Gotta Rain To Have Forage- Gotta Have Forage To ReBuild US Beef Cow Herd

By Derrell Peel

The first six weeks of 2014 have starrted off on the dry side of things- and that is a worry for OSU Extension Livestock Marketing Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, who says that Mother Nature will have to coorperate to allow beef cow herds to actually see some growth in numbers this year.

Peel is our guest on today's Beef Buzz, as we look at the status of the US Beef Cow herd and whether the hopes of expansion will turn into the reality of more beef cow numbers in the southern plains when 2014 is done.

Peel tells Farm Director Ron Hays that the market signals are there for cattlemen to expand the US beef cow herd, but those signals can only be acted on if forage supplies are adequate.