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Since mid-July, more than 93% of Texas has been in drought,
according to the United States Drought Monitor. As of
mid-August, more than 26% of Texas was at the highest level,
characterized by widespread loss of pastures and crops as well
as water shortages.
While conditions are especially acute in Texas, about 54% of all
U.S. cattle were in some form of drought as of Aug. 16, up from
36% a year earlier. Cattle slaughter is high nationwide,
temporarily increasing supply but portending tighter supplies in
future years.
Paul Craycraft, co-owner of the East Texas Livestock Auction in
Crockett, said dry pastures are depriving cattle of an important
food source, while making it more expensive for ranchers to
supplement their herds' diet with hay and feed.
"We've had I don't how many 100-degree (38 C) days and you can
see out here, you know, the grass is gone," Craycraft said. "The
cows are beginning to lose weight. The cows are weak because
there's no protein. So we're getting rid of a lot of cows."
About 75% of the cows sold at auction the past two months have
been sent to the slaughterhouse, Craycraft said, up from 30% to
40% in normal years.
Wesley Ratcliff, founder of Caney Creek Ranch in Oakwood, said
he got an early start selling 50 of his 500 cows this year as
the drought worsened.
"They were older mama cows and they might have gone and had
another baby for us," Ratcliff said. "But rather than wait on
them to have another baby, we went on to ship them to the meat
factory."
Texas A&M University agricultural economist David Anderson said
consumers can expect higher prices long-term due to what is
happening in Texas, which according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture has more than 4.5 million beef cows, or 14% of the
U.S. inventory.
"The pressure will be on for higher prices, higher cattle
prices, higher beef prices over the next several years as the
effects of this are felt," Anderson said. "We're going to face
tighter supplies of beef. And tighter supplies of beef, with
nothing else going on, means higher prices."
(Reporting by Evan Garcia in Crockett, Texas; Editing by Daniel
Trotta, Donna Bryson and Matthew Lewis)
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