By Josh Rhotenjrhoten@wyomingnews.com
CHEYENNE - Drought conditions across the U.S. have created a unique situation for Wyoming ranchers.
Demand for hay continues to grow, sparking an increase in prices.
Monte Lerwick, a rancher and farmer in Albin, said he was seeing a rise in prices, even for low-quality hay, because of the high demand.
“Our hay prices have been really high this year, and we have started to bundle it up into larger bails to send to other places because of the demand,” he said. “It doesn’t even really matter if it’s high quality or not, people just need it because of that drought.”
Todd Ballard with the U.S. Agricultural Department’s Agricultural Statistics Field Office for Wyoming said it is hard to get exact prices for hay because of differing bail sizes and qualities.
But he added that the price for hay going out of Wyoming has increased significantly over the last year, especially in the last few months.
“Any type of non-alfalfa hay was going for about $84 a ton last year and is now about $115,” he said. “The same goes for the national market, where the average cost for non-alfalfa hay moved from $95 to $127.”
The increase in hay prices can be tracked to drought conditions in states like Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and other traditional locations for cattle production.
Texas alone accounts for about 16 percent of the nation’s beef supply. This year the state has been hit the hardest by the dry conditions with only 7.5 inches of rain through August. The previous record low was 10.56 inches in 1956.
Steve Paisley, an associate professor at the University of Wyoming and beef cattle specialist, said the gains from the rising hay prices could last into next season.
“Hay is not only going to producers in Texas and those states, but to dairy farms in New Mexico and other locations as well,” he said. “There is going to be a high level of demand for a while.
“It may be difficult for those in the drought areas to establish crops for next year as well, so the carryover could go into next year.”
In a related matter, the dry conditions combined with higher feed prices are forcing ranchers to the south to sell off their stock rather than watch it starve.
Lerwick said a lot of the cattle being sold off are heading north, where the feed is plentiful.
“There are a lot of cattle heading into the Montana, Dakota and Wyoming region because of these conditions,” Lerwick said. “It’s easier and cheaper to bring the cattle to the feed rather than the other way around.”
Paisley said in the long term, the shift in cattle moving north could be good for local ranchers.
“The national herd (the total number of cows in the U.S.) was going down before this happened, and with more of the resources coming up to our area, our ranchers could be in a good position to sell their cattle at favorable prices down the line as demand goes
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up,” he said.
Ballard said the cattle liquidation sales in Texas and the other states have not really had an effect on the market.
“You would think that by liquidating herds prices would go down, but it’s not effecting too much and they are still holding up pretty good,” he added.
“Having more cattle in our region just means there will be more opportunities for our producers in the future, especially because we have good pastures and good water. We are in a lot better shape compared to average condition.”
