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Lots Of Cattle Going To Market In Oklahoma Due To Drought

published: June 30th 2011
source: Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Nearly 13,000 head of cattle were sold at the Oklahoma National Stockyards this week, an increase of more than 50 percent over the 8,000 head normally sold at this time of year, according to the Oklahoma National Stockyards.

The reason for the increase, according to stockyards President Rob Fisher, is the ongoing drought across most of the state. The stockyard in Oklahoma City is the largest cattle market in the nation.

“The drought is having a definite effect,” Fisher told The Journal Record. “We’ve had the biggest cattle run in a day that we’ve seen all year, and it’s all due to the drought. Producers just can’t afford to buy hay right now. There’s nothing to feed them.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor last Thursday rated the drought as severe to extreme through central Oklahoma and exceptional in the western third of the state. The monitor is updated each Thursday.

Areas of the country not in a drought have reported a decrease in cattle slaughter because ranchers are holding back more of their stock to build toward next year’s herd.

Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension livestock marketing specialist, said that for the year so far, beef cow slaughter has decreased 4.4 percent nationally compared with last year while beef cow slaughter in drought states has increased 11.7 percent.

If those states weren’t in the middle of a drought, the national slaughter rate would have decreased 7.7 percent by now, he said.

The final sales report issued by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Market News for this week described more auctioned cattle as being thin than those that were fleshy or full, leaving cattle producers feeling depressed about the industry.

“It’s got some psychological effect on them, and it can’t be all that good,” said Jim Deberry, who normally holds about 500 head at his operation in Yukon.

“A lot of these cattle are losing weight, and you can tell it just by looking. That’s depressing,” he said.