10 February 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The drought continues to impact farmers, bringing a tough decision for some cattle farmers and their herds.
“They were just telling us, ‘Hey, we were having to do sell down. We are trying to maintain a cow herd, but we are trying to do it with less numbers,'” said Terry DeVaughan, livestock auction manager for Syracuse Commission Company.
A result of the drought.
“It was becoming so expensive to try to find feed for them, and there wasn’t enough feed,” explained John Jenkinson.
Ag expert Jenkinson says this could lead to a tightened supply, “We’re going to have a gap in the pipeline that’s probably going to last for about a year, and that gap should probably start showing up sometime in the first or maybe mid-March.”
DeVaughn mentioned they expect to see a hit in business.
“Our numbers here could be down 10-15% for the year. We sell 90-100,000 cattle a year, so you’re talking from 10 to 15,000 less cattle to sell,” DeVaughn said.
At Sig’s Gourmet Meats in Derby, they try to plan ahead.
“Buy out early enough to safeguard my prices. I’m in an age beef program here. So I age my beef, so I’m buying beef that is 10 days old. I’m sitting on it for another 25 days or more. So that has the ability if I see that the markets making a turn or we’re gonna have a jump on things, I’ll buy up early,” said Justin Everhart, co-owner of Sig’s Gourmet Meats.
While hoping mother nature will soon be in their favor.
“If we don’t have the rains coming in and have our good growing season for all the hay, we’re really going to be hurting,” Everhart said.
Jenkinson says it’s hard to say when consumers could feel the increase in prices. Adding in, it depends on how much retailers absorb.