The United States Department of Agriculture says the cattle market has shrunk to an extent that hasn’t been seen in years. According to the latest cattle report, “of the 91.9 million head inventory, all cows and heifers that have calved totaled 39.5 million.”
The number of beef cattle in America has fallen to 30.1million, from 2 percent in 2021. In the United States, the number of milk cows is at 9.38 million.
Shayle Shagam (U.S. Department of Agriculture) stated Tuesday that Shayle Shagam was a U.S. Department of Agriculture cattle analyst.
“We are seeing large numbers of female stock have been placed in feedlots … supplies of cattle going to feedlots is going to be declining,” resulting in “progressively tighter supplies of all fed cattle available for slaughter as we move into 2023.”
Ground beef prices rose by 9.7 per cent in June from last year. We could experience another price rise due to decreased supply and increased input costs as well as drought conditions.
Pres. Biden’s high oil prices are waterboarding our farmers. Louisiana’s high oil prices mean that Louisiana farmers are producing more, which means more food for Louisiana’s families. pic.twitter.com/tUWwhv0xGN
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) July 25, 2022
National Cattleman’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said the drought is widespread this year, compared to the regional droughts in the past. Fox Business spoke with Woodall:
“There’s no place to go because everybody is struggling to find the forage they need to feed their cattle … We do expect the prices to continue upwards, but everybody has to remember that it’s not cattle producers setting that price.”
Woodall continued:
“It’s all about costs. It is all about the cost. That includes the cost for feed, hay, diesel for their trucks and truck fuel, as well fertilizer. And there’s so many things that go into producing cattle that the producers just don’t have any control over.”
John Kleiboeker is the owner of seedstock operations in California and Missouri. He explained that herd decline would continue due to the large number of cattle and heifers being sold for slaughter. It would take many years to rebuild it, he said.
“A heifer is two years old before she produces her first baby … That calf is another 18 months after that. So you’re talking about close to 40 months from the time that little baby heifer is born until she has produced a pound of beef.”
Klieboeker said he has not had to sell any stock yet; however, due to the continuous soaring prices of forage and feed, he has created his “cull list.” The cost for big round bales from the same supplier went up 50 percent from last year, $75 per bale, which has forced him to buy hay elsewhere.
“There is hay available, but with freight, the cost of transportation to bring it 200 to 250 miles south may be prohibitive,” Klieboeker told FOX Business. “The cheapest price we can find is $5.05 to $6 per loaded mile. Well, if you go adding an extra $1000 to $1,200 to a load of 30 round bales of hay, it gets really expensive real fast.”
Today, so many people take farmers for granted, but they don’t realize that farmers are the backbone of America. Farmers work every day to provide food for our families, regardless of the weather. Farmers are a key part of our economic strength. The global economy is strengthened by American farmers, who exported $140 billion in agricultural products.
Many thanks to the farmers.
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