In state, farmers working on herds

Cattle numbers low post-drought

Last summer’s scorching drought reduced the state’s cattle herds to their lowest numbers since 1964, leaving livestock growers hard at work rebuilding herds this year.

At the same time, farmers are planting record amounts of hay acreage this spring that they hope will restore supplies and sustain cattle herds into the future.

“It’s very frustrating to see what they’re going through,” said Phil Sims, the University of Arkansas Agriculture Division’s cooperative extension agent for Pope County. “Farmers are cautiously optimistic right now, but once you’ve been burnt, you really have to watch your back more.”

The state had 1.6 million head of cattle as of Jan. 1 - 70,000 fewer than in 2012, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The last time the state count was so low was in 1964, when the overall herd totaled 1.56 million animals. Federal statistics show the cattle count peaking in Arkansas at 2.7 million in 1975, before it slowly declined over the next few decades to its current level.

The situation in Arkansas reflects national troubles. Total cattle inventory in the United States was 89.3 million as of Jan. 1, the lowest since 1952.

“We had about 70 [percent] to 80 percent of cattle country in severe drought,” said Chase Adams, spokesman for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, based in Centennial, Colo. “It hit us hard. It takes a long time to build these numbers back up. We’re not like the hog or the chicken industry.”

Adams said that while the total number of cattle in the United States has decreased since the 1970s, beef production has risen overall because breeding has increased the average size of the animal. This cuts feed, water and land use by about 30 percent. Larger cattle result in fewer total animals, though the drought accelerated the trend.

“We’re all watching closely to see how the summer shapes up,” said Adams. “I do think there is a lot of optimism.”

The 2012 drought dried up pastures and decimated hay production in the state. Combined with high corn prices, feeding cattle became prohibitively expensive and forced farmers to cull herds early last year.

“You might say it was the perfect storm for the cattle industry,” said Butch Calhoun, Arkansas’ agriculture secretary. “I was afraid at one time that we were going to lose 25 percent of our cattle.”

Though 50,000 more acres of hay were harvested in 2012 than 2011, total hay production in Arkansas slipped by 22.2 percent over the same period to 1.75 million tons. This year, the statistics service expects that 1.49 million acres of hay will be cultivated in Arkansas, the most since 1941.

“Producers are going to spend the spring and early summer trying to get their barns full again,” said John Jennings, a forage specialist with UA’s Agriculture Division. “Most producers rely on hay to get their stock through the winter. The drought this last year was so severe that it was all fed or sold.”

Last year, Arkansas farmers bought hay from eastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi to feed cattle, but shipping costs doubled typical hay prices.

Though this year’s weather has been uncertain, recent rainfall has increased optimism among farmers. About 80 percent of Arkansas is drought free, though counties in the southwest and northwest are abnormally dry or in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“We continue to be cautiously optimistic,” Sims said. “We received adequate rainfall to replenish a lot of our soil moisture.”

The USDA reported that pasture conditions were “fair to good” as of Sunday. At the height of the drought in August, conditions were “poor to very poor,” according to the USDA’s statistics service.

Last year’s “exceptional” drought prompted around $3.8 million in federal aid directed at replanting and improving water access to pastures. Additional aid that would normally be available through a federal drought program wasn’t forthcoming because Congress failed to pass a farm bill last year, Calhoun said.

The severity of the situation prompted Gov. Mike Beebe to allocate $2 million in disaster aid to feed livestock, Calhoun said.

“I know the drought was bad, but I was surprised at the response,” Calhoun said. “We used every penny.”

The program helped about 770,000 animals. The amount varied by animal, but cattle farmers who applied for aid received $3.20 per animal.

Sims said there wasn’t enough money allocated through the program. Of about 1,000 full and part-time farmers in Pope County, only about 100 received money.

“It helped in a limited sense,” Sims said. “There just wasn’t enough of it.”

He said most farmers in his area are mostly maintaining their current cattle herds, though some are trying to increase stock. Statewide, it will take years to rebuild the cattle population.

“Several are looking for animals to buy, but trying to find them at the quality they want and the price they can afford is a big obstacle,” Jennings said.

Business, Pages 25 on 05/15/2013

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