Drought Forcing Arkansas Cattle Ranchers to Sell Off Livestock
By: Josh Berry
Updated: June 28, 2012
Heat is taking its toll on Arkansas Ranchers.
Every week, they typically sell a portion of their cattle at local auctions, but in the last few months, that portion has changed to entire stocks.
Their resources have dried up. The heat and dry weather have left the ranchers with no way to feed the cattle except to use what little they can get their hands on.
"We're feeding hay just like it's winter time," said cattle rancher, David Sweat.
Sweat saved up just enough to feed his cattle.
"So I can keep mine a while, how long I don't know," he said. "But you're seeing lots of people that have been in cattle business for 30, 40, 50 years that are selling out."
Conditions have been so bare, ranchers have no choice but to sell their cattle and in some cases their entire stock.
They take them to an auction barn.
"Cattle aren't doing good this time of year," said Co-Owner of the Hope Livestock Auction Barn, Denny Dickinson. "They don't have anything to eat. Ponds are getting low. Water supply is running tight. It's just not a good thing any way you want to put it."
Dickinson said cattle normally come through these gates at a rate of 7 to 900 head a week. For the last month however, that number has jumped to 1,800. That's double what they're used to.
Dickinson added that ranchers have brought 15,000 more cattle this year to get auctioned off than this time last year.
He added that these kind of numbers will cause a shortage of good mama cows and calves in southwest Arkansas.
"They're hoping every time a cloud comes up but it's getting kinda late in the year for rain to really cure a whole lot of us right now," Dickinson explained about farmers hoping for rain.
But hope for rain, whether it's in Hope, Arkansas likely won't get them very far.
"It's just a bad situation and it's getting worse," said Sweat.
Ranchers and auctioneers expect the cattle numbers to keep rising.
They had so much cattle come through Thursday (6/28), they expected to still be working into the overnight hours.
Every week, they typically sell a portion of their cattle at local auctions, but in the last few months, that portion has changed to entire stocks.
Their resources have dried up. The heat and dry weather have left the ranchers with no way to feed the cattle except to use what little they can get their hands on.
"We're feeding hay just like it's winter time," said cattle rancher, David Sweat.
Sweat saved up just enough to feed his cattle.
"So I can keep mine a while, how long I don't know," he said. "But you're seeing lots of people that have been in cattle business for 30, 40, 50 years that are selling out."
Conditions have been so bare, ranchers have no choice but to sell their cattle and in some cases their entire stock.
They take them to an auction barn.
"Cattle aren't doing good this time of year," said Co-Owner of the Hope Livestock Auction Barn, Denny Dickinson. "They don't have anything to eat. Ponds are getting low. Water supply is running tight. It's just not a good thing any way you want to put it."
Dickinson said cattle normally come through these gates at a rate of 7 to 900 head a week. For the last month however, that number has jumped to 1,800. That's double what they're used to.
Dickinson added that ranchers have brought 15,000 more cattle this year to get auctioned off than this time last year.
He added that these kind of numbers will cause a shortage of good mama cows and calves in southwest Arkansas.
"They're hoping every time a cloud comes up but it's getting kinda late in the year for rain to really cure a whole lot of us right now," Dickinson explained about farmers hoping for rain.
But hope for rain, whether it's in Hope, Arkansas likely won't get them very far.
"It's just a bad situation and it's getting worse," said Sweat.
Ranchers and auctioneers expect the cattle numbers to keep rising.
They had so much cattle come through Thursday (6/28), they expected to still be working into the overnight hours.
