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CapitalPress.com
Friday, August 12, 2022
Drought forces cattle producers to thin herd
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Widespread and expand-
ing drought in the U.S.
is sending more cattle
than usual to feedlots and
slaughter.
Unfortunately,
there
doesn’t appear to be a lot of
reason for optimism, said
Derrell Peel, extension live-
stock specialist with Okla-
homa State University.
The latest U.S. Seasonal
Drought Outlook for the next
three months suggests con-
tinued drought in drought
regions and possibly more
drought developing in the
Midwest and a little in the
Gulf states, he said during
the latest “Farm Country
Update” webinar.
The U.S. is going to con-
tinue to be in a La Nina pat-
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald File
Analysts say widespread drought is sending more cattle than expected into feedlots and on to slaughter.
tern at least into the begin-
ning of next year, so things
don’t look favorable, he said.
“We have a lot of poor
forage conditions in terms of
pasture. We have limited hay
stocks and limited hay pro-
duction going on this year,
so really a lot of challenges
across the board,” he said.
As a result, hay prices
are record high and feed
grain and supplemental
feed prices are high as well.
There’s just no relief in sight
in any direction, he said.
The July 1 beef cow herd
was down 2.4% year over
year, and it is down 6.3%
since the recent peak in
2018, and he expects it will
be down at least another mil-
lion head this calendar year.
The calf crop also peaked
in 2018, and feeder supplies
outside feedlots are tighten-
ing up, down 2.7% on July
1. Feedlots haven’t seen all
of the impact of that yet, in
part because the drought is
sending cattle to feedlots
early, he said.
“Feedlots have kind of
been defying gravity by
holding these feedlot inven-
tories high. But I don’t think
they can continue to do that
from this point forward,” he
said.
Placements into feedlots
in June were down 2.4%,
and all of that decline was
in the heavier weight cate-
gories. Placements of cattle
700 pounds and less was up
almost 4%, he said.
“We’re holding these
feedlot inventories in part
by borrowing against future
feeder cattle supplies,” he
said.
There’s been some early
weaning and movement out
of the country and into feed-
lots as forage supplies are
depleted.
The number of steers in
feedlots are down, and the
number of heifers in feed-
lots is up. There have been
more heifers in feedlots all
year and that’s going to con-
tinue. The other side of that
is beef replacement heifers
were down 3.5% on July 1,
he said.
“We’re going to have
a very limited amount of
heifer calves and bred heif-
ers as we go into next year,”
he said.
Heifer slaughter is up
3.9% year to date, and beef
cow slaughter is up 14% he
said.
“We’re
slaughtering
females and, again, that has
implications not only for
this year but for the next
several years,” he said.
The drought is taking
the industry to lower cattle
numbers than intended. He
thinks sometime in the next
four years, the scenario will
probably be pretty similar to
what happened in the 2013
to 2016 timeframe, he said.
“Once we move past the
drought at some point in
time, we’re going to have
tremendous incentives to
rebuild this industry,” he
said.
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w w w. w e s t e r n p a c k a g i n g. c o m
Idaho Wheat Commission
chooses new executive director
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Britany Hurst Marchant
says growers can look for
a smooth transition as she
takes over leadership of the
Idaho Wheat Commission.
Marchant will become
commission’s
execu-
tive director Sept. 1. She
replaces Casey Chumrau,
Britany
Hurst
Marchant
who joined
the com-
mission in
2020 and
is leaving
to become
CEO of the
Wa s h i n g -
ton Grain
Commis-
sion.
Marchant said she’s had
good mentors and exam-
ples of leadership while
working for the Idaho
Commission, particularly
Chumrau, who encouraged
her to apply for the job.
“Working with and
being mentored by Casey
and the commissioners will
facilitate continuity and an
easy transition,” March-
ant told the Capital Press.
“Hopefully growers can
expect the same quality
leadership they’re used to,
although Casey leaves big
shoes to fi ll.”
Marchant joined the
commission as communi-
cations and grower educa-
tion manager in Decem-
ber 2017. She previously
worked as communications
director, lobbyist and envi-
ronmental policy direc-
tor for the Idaho Cattle
Association.
The commission’s gen-
eral priorities are to get
Idaho wheat into domestic
and international markets,
Marchant said. Half of Ida-
ho’s wheat crop is exported.
“Making sure those mar-
kets stay open, so (grow-
ers’) family farms are profi t-
able and sustainable into the
future,” she said.
Marchant grew up in the
Mini-Cassia, “rural, agricul-
tural” area of south-central
Idaho. She attended Boise
State University, where she
earned a bachelor’s degree
in history and political
science.
She wanted to be a lob-
byist and work on the pol-
icy side of the industry, she
said.
She is “working on behalf
of the people who put food
on our tables, and the tables
around the world,” she said.
“Farm families are the back-
bone of Western culture and
Idaho’s economy, and it’s
very important to me.”
“While we had a pool
of excellent candidates to
choose from, Britany was
the obvious choice for the
position,”
commission
chairman Clark Hamilton
said in a press release. “She
brings a wealth of knowl-
edge to the table with her
previous work with the
commission. Her passion
for agriculture in Idaho,
knowledge of the wheat
industry, and her profes-
sional experience and con-
nections made her the right
choice for the job. We look
forward to the future and
great things to come with
Britany at the helm.”