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Current snow drought adds more concerns for cattle, hog producers
Story Date: 1/17/2013
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Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 1/16/13
On the heels of last summer’s dry spell, the snow drought of 2013 is likely to have distinct implications for cattle and hog producers in the coming year, according to industry analysts.
A lack of snow cover across the United States this winter is affecting already-battered agriculture operations, reservoirs and leisure travel to such cold-weather destinations as ski resorts. Just 22 percent of the nation was covered by snow in early January, the smallest percentage since January of 2007. In response, USDA last week designated 597 counties in states with current or grazing seasons as being in a state of drought disaster, opening the door for farmers in nearly 800 areas across the nation to apply for low-interest emergency loans from the federal government.
The National Drought Mitigation Center also released data indicating that prospects for a continued dry start in 2013 are highly likely. For livestock and hog producers, the concern focuses on winter wheat and the conditions that may be in place for the upcoming corn-planting season this spring.
While the cattle industry isn’t currently seeing a direct impact from the snow drought, Derrell Peel of Oklahoma State University believes the recent past could provide some guidance in terms of what might need to happen this summer.
“We had some of the same conditions in 2010 and (the cattle industry) didn’t see what could happen then, but they sure see it now,” Peel told Meatingplace. “If we get to March and it’s still dry, things will quickly go into severe conditions, unlike with summer droughts, where things have time to ramp up in terms of response.”
Peel, the Livestock Marketing Specialist at OSU, notes that the southern plain is “really hurting for water now because of the snow drought,” while Oklahoma will have “nothing left” if similar dry conditions continue into mid-March. Peel says the cattle industry will be forced to go into immediate liquidation mode, adding that “the clock is ticking and we may see liquidations taking place as soon as April or May” instead of later in the year. (He adds that the shift doesn’t really affect cattle production projections on an annual basis, but changes the timing of processing.)
Further down the line, hog producers should be wary of how the snow drought might affect feed supplies as farmers prepare for corn planting this spring, according to Ron Plain of the University of Missouri.
“The next concern will be over planting 2013 corn in very dry soil and continued dry weather in the western corn belt. It’s very worrisome because it reduces the normal yield this year,” Plain told Meatingplace. “The dry fourth quarter in 2012 also means there won’t be much growth in winter wheat in the south and also sparks concerns on the overall (planting) conditions by spring.”
Plain, a professor of agricultural economics, points out that “droughts show up every once in a while, with 2012 being the worst since the 1950s. We also hope that the current situation won’t become ‘the new normal.’ “
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
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