Monday, August 08, 2011

Out-of-state ranchers now buying up stock

The severe drought continues to force deep culling of livestock across the Lone Star State, increasing numbers of cattle and sheep going to market. The majority of ranchers have no water in stock tanks or forage left in pastures and the high cost of hay and other feed is draining their bank accounts. While watching good-looking cow/calf pairs going through the sale ring at Producers Livestock Auction on Thursday, I became concerned that foundation herds with genetics built up over years of selective breeding might be leaving West Texas ranch country forever. Actually, a lot of our cattle are being relocated to new homes, Charley Christensen, Producers general manager, told me. They are literally going to greener pastures. Ranchers in places like Montana, Wyoming and North and South Dakota are in a big restocking mode following drought conditions they experienced in recent years. The same is true for breeding sheep, said Peter Orwick, executive director of Denver-based American Sheep Industry Association. "We hear weekly of truckloads of ewes that are moving into the Dakotas from Texas, for example, providing encouragement that the breeding stock will remain in production," Orwick said. "You really feel for the ranchers that are out of options for feeding stock; however, unlike some drought years when prices weaken due to forced sales, this year has very strong markets as well as areas with record hay and grass production plus producers looking to expand sheep numbers." Not willing to sell their livestock with accumulative generations of genetics, some ranchers are transporting sheep to areas with greater feed and water, such as the conditions in northern states, Orwick agreed...more

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