Drought dims ranchers’ prospects

With feed yields down and summer forage ranges disappearing, cattle producers are digging in for more tough times ahead. Despite rains over the weekend and a thunderstorm on Monday, Tooele County has seen an exceptionally dry year that has taken a toll on many local ranchers’ operations. Extreme drought conditions have forced many of the county’s ranchers to pull their livestock off their summer ranges early and buy hay they would normally grow themselves. Leland Hogan, a Tooele rancher and president of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, said the problem is critical. “If we get rain through the rest of the summer periodically it will improve soon, but we’re just about to the point where there isn’t any more availability,” he said. “A lot of people will have to sell their livestock because they won’t be able to feed them. More cattle will go to market early, and more will be sold than normal.” Hogan said cattle having to leave their summer ranges early will put more pressure on the market to supply feed, and prices will continue to be driven higher. “We’re in an extreme drought,” Hogan said. “We had to pull our livestock off our summer range early, and our first crop of hay was about 50 percent of what it normally is.”...MORE