For the second time in a decade, drought has pushed cattle numbers in the U.S. lower than planned and lower than needed to meet the demands of the market. Figure 1 shows how the current situation is similar to the beginning of the previous low in beef cow numbers.
Cattle prices are trending higher, starting to increase much as they did in 2013 prior to the herd rebuilding that commenced in 2014. However, while drought has diminished in much of the country, important beef cattle regions in the central and southern plains that are still in drought limit how the cattle industry is able…
