But near-term outlook is promising for meaningful rains in the Southern Plains.
From floods to droughts, 2011’s weather extremes can create unexpected health problems in your cattle herd.
Recent sharp drops in corn prices may cause some pain for producers, but end users benefit. This is how the free market should and does work, says Jerry Gulke.
Eight percent of respondents indicate they will no longer own cattle in 2012, though this is only a temporary measure.
With farmers from Kansas to Texas saying they’ve never seen it drier, it looks like 2012 runs the risk of being another short crop year.
Drought forcing cattle to market could mean a lighter fall run at higher prices later this year.
The drought losses have reached record levels mainly due to farmers failing to cash in crops during times of high commodity prices.
Drought brought higher placements, but WASDE expects carcass weights to drop.