February 9, 2010

Winter snow to hamper US livestock, benefits winter wheat

Winter weather is moving across the US midsection which will stress cattle in the Southern Plains and slow down hog transportation in the corn belt.

According to Mike Tannura, meteorologist with T-storm Weather, the two storm systems are located in the Dakotas and one in the Southern Plains, which will converge in the eastern corn belt in the next 24 hours.

The storm is expected to disrupt transportation of hogs to processors while transportation is already slowing in the western corn belt. Parts of the central and western corn belt, particularly Iowa were hard-hit by storms earlier in the winter.

Colder temperatures will move in after the snow, and wind speeds are expected to become more brisk on Tuesday (Feb 9). It will cause significant drifting and hamper transportation of livestock in some areas.

Farther south and west in the Plains, livestock producers are dealing with more wintry precipitation that will add stress on livestock. Meteorologist Palmerino said feedlots from the Texas panhandle to southwest Kansas saw two to four inches of snow on Sunday (Feb 7). More snow is expected in parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Wednesday (Feb 10).

The cold weather could cause the livestock to consume more grain in an effort to maintain weight. Recently, the Southern plains region has already been pelted with snow. Palmerino said although the current forecast does not include an extreme arctic blast, it is "persistent unsettled weather which really stresses the animals."

High temperatures will struggle to reach freezing the next couple of days, while lows dip into the 20s. On the bright side, the snowfall will benefit the winter wheat crop as producers do not have to worry about dryness once the crop emerges from dormancy in the spring.

Meanwhile, the storm moving across the Midwest will also dump more misery on the Washington DC. area, which is still digging out from two feet of snow that fell over the weekend. Palmerino said areas from New York to Washington will see 6-12 inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday.