Agricultural News
Will Beef Producers Leave the Industry Because of Severe Drought?
Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:56:53 CDT
In today's Beef Buzz, we bring you an update from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Summer Cattle Industry Conference in Orlando, Florida. Tom Field, head of Producer Education for NCBA, says he is worried about the drought hitting cattle herds, causing liquidation, and in turn causing many older cattle producers to leave the industry.
Field says the big loss would be the intellectual capital that will leave the beef industry when these cattlemen that have been in the business for a long time leave. Field also says this causes concern for the stability of rural communities.
Another cause for concern, says Field, is the size of the U.S. beef cow herd, which was estimated at 31.4 million head of beef cows according to the USDA in early July. This goes along with the number of beef cattle producers, which Field says he never thought he would see under one million, but is currently around three-fourths of one million.
Click on the LISTEN bar below to hear the rest of Ron Hays and Tom Field's discussion on the potential for cattle producers to leave the industry from the severe drought this year.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the listen bar below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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