Cattle in the Drought Pt 1
I’m Bob Larson. The heat wave we’re currently experiencing is nothing but a big fat punctuation mark on the drought conditions many Northwest producers were already challenged by, including the livestock industry.
Ashley House, Executive Vice President at the Washington Cattlemen’s Association says the drought has really created a challenging year for our ranchers …
HOUSE … “Certainly, I think our concern is always a protracted drought situation. And, what we’re seeing now, particularly in Washington, and what I hear from our members is that they’re having to leave pastures, you know, a month ahead of time because of the forage quality and the range conditions.”
And, House says some ranchers, expecting to rotate pastures in mid-June, actually did that a month ago …
HOUSE … “You know, it’s always challenging to find more pasture or where the protein quality is what you want for your herd. And so, we’re seeing a lot of hay that folks are having to import from other areas and certainly, down in like Walla Walla area, you know, the hay yields are really down dramatically from what they are traditionally are year over year.”
House says one of the unintended consequences has been a greater demand for hay and cattle feed, which in turn drives up prices.
Tune in tomorrow for more on our cattle industry and the impact of the drought on the price of feeding their livestock.
