January 23, 2009

 

The faltering economy is seen to severely affect the cattle industry in the US as farmers are looking towards a tough 2009.

 

Skylar Houston of Aristocrat Angus in Platteville says downturn in the nation's cow herd means there are fewer "factories" to produce calves. However, he sees good prospects in the global market as good cattle and cattle genetics are high in demand in Russia, Mexico and other European countries.

 

Mark Dorsey, an Eaton native who now raises cattle outside the northwest Texas town of Seymour, said drought conditions across Texas into Oklahoma and Kansas are putting a real strain on the industry. The state's weather, he said, has been terribly dry, as rains only reach 0.7 of an inch the past few months.

 

Dorsey said he had to scramble to find feed for his cattle that normally have a good stand of grass. Even three hurricanes that moved over his part of Texas in the past couple of years haven't left enough moisture to do any good.

 

The dry weather, he says, "tells the kind of year we've had."

 

Bill Angell of La Salle is the livestock manager at the National Western. He said private treaty sales at this year's stock show have been good, "better than last year," and auctions have been strong, although cattle numbers were down at this year's show.

Angell however added that uncertain times also prompt farmers for a "wait and see period."

 

Bill Hammerich, CEO of the Greeley-based Colorado Livestock Association, said he continues to be perplexed by the state of the industry, which is showing red ink from bottom to top.

          

Dry conditions also are starting to settle into the cattle areas of Colorado, which he said adds to the mix. Hammerich also agreed with JBS Swift & Co. spokesman Chandler Keyes, who told the Red Meat Club at the National Western last week that the nation is suburban-driven.

 

Hammerich said that people are getting out of agriculture with fewer people involved in larger cattle operations.

 

The Colorado dairy industry, he said, has gone from more than 200 operations at the beginning of the 2000s to fewer than 140 presently, while cattle numbers have remained about the same or grown. Cattle feedlots have gone through the same evolution.

 

In the next 25 years, Hammerich predicted that agriculture in Colorado is going to get bigger, but with fewer people involved.