Ranchers being forced to sell cattle

IT’S SO hot and dry in northern parts of the US that cattle ranchers are frantically selling off animals to trim their herds as hay crops and pasturelands wither.

There were so many cows, calves and pairs of the animals available for sale at a recent livestock auction in Aberdeen, South Dakota, that bidding lasted 15 hours, said Steve Hellwig, the co-owner of Hub City Livestock Auction who chanted the rhythmic repetition of prices until 1.30am. Sales for the day reached a record 2 480 lots, or more than three times the normal weekly total.

Drought conditions have swept the northern reaches of the Great Plains this year, parching grazing pastures and grain fields while demonstrating how quickly severe weather can upend commodity markets. Prices for spring wheat grown in the area have soared 16% this month as volatility jumped. While the rush of cattle to auctions probably won’t have an immediate impact on US meat supplies, some ranchers who are being forced to sell their animals early or pay more for feed may suffer losses.

The dry conditions spurred the National Farmers Union along with groups from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota to send a letter to US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last week requesting that land in a federal conservation programme be released for emergency grazing or haying. As some ranchers trim herds, others are driving hundred of kilometres to find hay, the letter said. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, on average, expect that 2.08 million cattle were placed in feedlots in May, up 10% from a year ago.

In eastern Montana, more than double the number of cattle were sold at auctions when compared with a typical June. Most farmers have enough grass for the summer, while persistent dryness could cause a shortage of the hay supply that animals rely on in winter. – Washington Post