Drought in Mexico Pulls Cattle North; Canadian Cattle Imports 40 Percent Lower

Jun 15, 2011

Drought in Mexico Pulls Cattle North; Canadian Cattle Imports 40 Percent Lower

Drought conditions in Mexico have increased the incentive for many producers to export cattle to the United States. The principal forage-producing states of Mexico are facing extreme drought conditions that could endanger animals, particularly if critical rainfall is not received in June and July—the rainy season for major cattle and forage-producing states in Mexico.

Given feeder cattle demand in the United States, these lightweight cattle have largely been placed directly into feedlots during the past few months--atypically, as they normally would have grazed forage in the United States before being placed. Large portions of Texas and New Mexico, however, are also experiencing drought conditions. Monthly cattle imports from Mexico through April were 28 percent higher than year-earlier levels according to U.S. Census data.

These higher imports have been maintained in recent weeks, as weekly AMS data reports through the first week of June also show cattle imports from Mexico 27 percent higher year-over-year. Weather conditions in Mexico in the summer months will determine the degree of seasonal spike in cattle imports this fall.

Monthly Canadian cattle imports through April were 38 percent below year-earlier levels. Weekly AMS reports show year-over-year Canadian cattle imports declining further into June—nearly 40 percent lower. Thus far in the year, the U.S.-Canadian slaughter cattle price differential has remained well below levels posted in the last 3 years. In April, this differential only began to cross into the range posted in 2009;since May, it has averaged $3.80/cwt lower than 2010 levels.

Source: Economic Research Service, USDA

Video: Navigating Challenges On A Sheep Farm!

In today's episode of our daily sheep farming vlog at Ewetopia Farms, we find ourselves faced with a multitude of tasks and limited time to complete them all. However, we are determined to make progress! Our main focus today was to train the Dorset triplets to drink from bottles without the need for us to hold them. Arnie even took on the challenge of feeding bottles to the Suffolk lambs, giving him a taste of what it's like to be mobbed by hungry little ones!

This year, our lambs are growing at an impressive rate, which brings both joy and unexpected challenges. Some of the lambs have been getting stuck under the feeders, while others struggle to enter or exit the creep pen. To address the feeder issue, we diligently cleaned out the bedding pack surrounding the feeders, providing the lambs with more space. As for the lambs' difficulty in accessing the creep pen, we plan to separate the larger lambs and relocate them to another pen soon.

With a large number of sheep on the farm, ensuring everyone is fed each day leaves us with limited extra time to tackle additional tasks. Nevertheless, we believe in taking small steps towards our goals. Join us in this episode as we navigate through the challenges and work towards the well-being of our flock