Cattle ranchers seeing record auction prices

Early last year, ranchers were selling cattle for about $80 per 100 pounds, and losing about $25 per cow, according to Drovers CattleNetwork, an online industry magazine. Last week prices were about $120 per 100 pounds. But corn prices are on the rise, as are fuel costs, which means this could be temporary. Many factors have contributed to the smaller cattle inventory, said Holly Foster, who runs cattle in Butte and Plumas County with her parents and brother. She's a member of Butte County Cattlemen's Association. As of January, the USDA reported there were 92.6 million cattle and calves in the United States. "Mature beef cows have gone down by 500,000 head since this time last year," she said. This is expected to decline by 1.5 percent over the year...more