Cattle prices jump as ranchers begin rebuilding

A cow runs circles in a small pen, her baby close by her side. Ranchers, their brows wrinkled, scribble in a glossy catalog while high on a podium the auctioneer slams his gavel, taking bids as the price of the pair rises rapidly. The high-profile auction at the Neches River Ranch gave cattlemen a good indication of how long it might take to rebuild after Texas’ devastating drought and what it might cost them. “Since we’ve gotten rain and everything, the price has really jumped up,” said John Dixon, a rancher near Elkhart, who with a slight nod of his head bought a $7,000 cow. “They sold at a pretty good level all the way through.” Last year’s historic drought forced ranchers to cut their herds because they had no grass and couldn’t afford high hay prices. Hundreds of thousands of cattle were slaughtered or sent out of the state, leaving Texas, the largest livestock producer in the nation, with its smallest herd since the 1950s. Then, after a year of record-breaking heat and an almost complete lack of rain, winter rains broke records. Ponds filled. The grass turned green. Ranchers began looking for cattle, and many – along with analysts, feedlots and livestock dealers – kept a close eye on the GeneTrust auction held in the rolling hills of East Texas on a ranch owned by the Cavenders, a family more often known for selling boots and hats in western stores than cattle genetics. Jason Cleere, a rancher and beef cattle specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension at Texas A&M University, believes that while ranchers are restocking, they remain cautious. The rains have slowed significantly in the past month, and many ranchers are heeding climatologists’ warnings that the next decade in Texas will be relatively dry. They’re keeping herds small so they’re better prepared for the next, inevitable, dry spell. With cattle prices high, cash reserves low, the weather uncertain and calves taking nine months to be born and several years to be ready for slaughter, many estimate the beef industry may need five years to fully recover...more