Drought and dry conditions continue to plague farmers and ranchers across the country, especially in the heartland. As we have reported, these weather conditions are forcing producers to make hard decisions.
Struggles with pasture land drought is leading to some producers culling their herds.
Over 75 percent of North Dakota is in extreme drought. The state has been in a drought for over a year
These extreme conditions caused a large amount of cattle to be sold. From Sunday, June 6th to Monday, June 7th, Rugby Livestock and Auction sold more than 4,200 head.
“For this time of the year, by far, we’ve had normal sales in the winter during the height of the marketing season where we’ve had 5,000. It’s not totally unheard of except for June,” former auctioneer Ron Torgerson stated, according to KXNET.
Besides the heartbreak of selling a majority of cattle overnight, these ranchers are also selling almost 50 cents below the average price.
David Bohl, a producer, stated, “Everybody is in the same situation, they’re going to have to sell probably 25-50 percent of them because there’s nowhere to go with them as they just got no food to feed them.”
Related:
Weather roller coaster causing chaos
Producers face culling decisions as drought lingers
Story via Karassa Stinchcomb with KX News