Which may mean some cheap beef in the short run but it looks like ranchers are having a tough enough season to make further spikes in food prices inevitable:
Deeper culling of cowherds is not just a possibility but reality in some states.
The latest drought monitor doesn’t offer much in the way of good news for the southern plains. And the latest pasture condition report form USDA shows that in Texas for instance, 50% of pastures are in very poor condition, Georgia and New Mexico report 44% of pastures in very poor condition.
“As we go another week without any measurable rains and above normal temperatures, forage conditions continue to deteriorate under normal grazing pressure,” said Lee Dudley, Texas AgriLife Extension agent for Panola County. “Many producers have already culled once and are now looking to cull deeper into their herds as they are running out of standing grass.”
Some northern states have had more moisture than usual but overall it doesn’t seem like enough to make up for the crop and herd loses we’ve seen this year in the southern states.