Relentless heat and worsening drought conditions are devastating Texas cattle ranchers
serf
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Looks dire for cattle prices next year with most cattle being dump now because of hay prices with no water. No mature beef cattle will be available and South America is the only hope for prices next year or two even if the long term Drought breaks.
serf
His cattle now have to walk half a mile in triple-digit temperatures to find the next natural source of water. He also pumps in city water to a nearby trough -- an alternative that's way more expensive than the free reservoir he usually gets from his pond.
The worsening conditions are making it so difficult to maintain healthy cattle that ranchers are selling off cows at a startling pace not seen in more than a decade, foreshadowing troubling trends for consumer prices. With so many cows sold and slaughtered at once, fewer calves will be born next year, which means less beef on the market down the road.
Comments
Sad situation for sure. Cows need at least 20 gallons each per day when the weather gets above 80 degrees.
Terrible
The commies in charge are loving it. They think ALL cows are bad and we should ALL eat fake(vegie) meats.
I hate it for the ranchers, but WE will take the worse end of it later! This will affect all other forms of meat too, as if BidenFlation wasnt enough already!
Don't count on South America.
I met someone from Brazil in Maine a couple of weeks ago. It was about 95 degrees in Maine when I met them.
They said they came to Maine and only packed long pants as they though Maine was going to be cold.
They said it has been as hot in Brazil as it was in Maine. That with it being "winter" in Brazil this time of the year.
....The article is a bit dramatic...'devastating' is used to hook the unknowing reader...are we in a severe drought here, yes...dryer than the dust on a horned toads back, yes...but...if youre a cattle rancher here, especially for any length of time, this is nothing new...a cattle rancher thats been raising cattle for decades, has been thru a lot of severe droughts...every few years we have a severe drought spmewhere in Texas that lasts a few months to a year plus...I doubt we will have to import anymore beef than what we do now...beef prices will be more effected by the Libs policies than by Texas drought...
Unless the Southwest Long Drought decides to include Central and South Texas. Texas. Well, no hurricanes so far this year and we are in the peak season soon here on the Gulf Coast.
serf
However, there is a need for human adaptation to climate change, a greater commitment to groundwater conservation and development of large-scale regional aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) facilities that are capable of long-term storage in order to sustain groundwater availability. Groundwater resource managers and planners must confront the possibility of an increased potential for prolonged (multi-year) droughts and develop innovative strategies that effectively integrate water augmentation technologies and conservation-oriented policies to ensure the sustainability of aquifer resources well into the next century.
As a long time cattle producer, I have to say that 'ranches' often operate on 'best case scenario' planning. I left the cow/calf business as a result of physical incapacity and no affordable help. Sure, I could have kept some cows but I refused to subject them to the conditions resulting from lack of care and attention. The 'big ranches' leave a LOT to be desired when it comes to day to day livestock care. Some may be considerably overstocked w/o any 'Plan B' in case of drought/blizzard/??.
I always considered how I would handle dry/wet/snowy conditions but the 'ranchers' seem to just circle back to the same old traditional resolutions to similar environmental conditions. Cry and moan and watch their livestock suffer/die.
i bought sirloin at Walm , it had a nice paint job.
Mr. Doom and gloom of the GB forums at his best...
Raising cattle has never been an easy way to make a living.We quit when they could sell beef imported from Argentina cheaper than we could sell it locally.
They need John Wayne and Montgomery Clift to put the Red River brand on 'em, and lead a cattle drive to the railroad in Kansas. They need good beef back east.
I work in the meat dept. at a major grocer.............prices keep going up. I hear that Montana ranchers are buying the Texas herds......beef production isn't dead.
Joe Biden and the DEMOCRATs are doing far greater damage to farmers than the weather.