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Drought forcing more cattle to market earlier

Drought conditions in some of the country’s largest cattle producing areas are on the rise.

Texas A&M livestock economist David Anderson says he wasn’t expecting to have to talk about drought conditions this severe so soon after the 2011/2012 drought.  “We’ve got a lot of cows, but some substantial drought areas and we have some drought-forced sales of cows,” he says.  “People are having to make some early decisions and move some cows out earlier and I think that also extends into some calves and having to move them also.”

USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says Texas received significant rainfall recently, and that’s headed into other parts of the Corn Belt.  “That focus for heavy rainfall will shift northward,” he says.  “We will see some substantial rainfall in the southwestern Corn Belt – which as we know from the crop conditions and the pasture conditions – has been suffering greatly.”

Anderson says the precipitation is welcome – but is too late to help many cattle producers who were already facing a shorter than normal hay crop.

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