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Cattle industry continues to monitor drought conditions

If drought conditions persist in parts of the country, a livestock economist says it could greatly impact the cattle herd.

University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says cattle producers need to see some grass growth this spring.  “You look back at the cattle report we got in January and some of those beef cow numbers tell me some of those drier western states probably moving cows to other parts of the country,” he says.  “If those other parts of the country don’t recover from the drought, those cows might move down the road at some point.”

He tells Brownfield a drought in 2021 is not certain, but it’s never good when cattle producers are starting the year with a short supply of moisture.  “To me it all comes down to do we get timely rains when we need them come the next few weeks to get these pastures greened up and give us enough growth to get through the year,” he says. 

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