Federal officials working to keep U.S. free of nightmarish screwworms

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The New World screwworm is the stuff of nightmares.

Named for its habit of screwing into the living flesh of warm-blooded animals with its razor-sharp mouth hooks, they are maggots — the larvae of Cochliomyia hominivorax, a fly with large orange eyes, a dark blue or green metallic body bearing three dark stripes.

Adult New World screwworm fly, characterized by its large orange eyes and bluish or greenish metallic body and three back stripes. (Image by  Judy Gallagher (lCreative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

All but disappeared from the United States since the 1960s, the New World screwworm has prompted fresh concerns from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the livestock industry after a case was reported in southern Mexico last fall.

This prompted the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, to put in effect a temporary ban on importation of live cattle, bison, horses and other livestock from Mexico.

“The United States Department of Agriculture had successfully eradicated New World screwworm from the U.S. in 1966,” said Kirsten Midkiff, extension animal health and wellbeing specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “The last case that we had in the U.S. was in October 2016 in Florida, and swift action was taken to eliminate the presence by March 2017.

“Because of this new case in the southern part of Mexico, APHIS announced on Dec. 13 that there will be a release of $165 million in emergency funding to protect U.S. livestock, pets, and wildlife,” Midkiff said.

Setting up a barrier

1944 bulletin from Florida Extension Service features discussion on managing screwworm before the pest was eradicated in the U.S. in 1966 (U of A System Division of Agriculture image by Jon Zawislak)

New World screwworms are endemic to Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and countries in South America. Panama was considered the border for screwworm prevalence, but recently the screwworm has trended north into Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and the southernmost areas of Mexico.

In 1972, USDA and Mexico started a screwworm eradication program to create a biological barrier distributing sterile flies which disrupt reproduction. The sterile flies were raised in a facility in Mexico and dispersed using specially equipped planes. In 2006, a new sterile fly production facility was built in Panama, with flies distributed along the border between Panama and Columbia, pushing the barrier further south. According to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, an average of 60 million sterile flies were dispersed weekly.

Midkiff said the emergency funds are being used to support surveillance efforts, animal health checkpoints, and collaborate with Mexico and Central American countries to establish a new barrier on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and re-establish the Panamanian barrier.

Precaution and prevention

Maggie Justice, extension beef cattle specialist for the Division of Agriculture, said she’s been getting questions from ranchers. However, she wants to emphasize that “currently, there is no outbreak in the U.S., we have imposed restrictions on live cattle imports from Mexico out of caution.

“This could cause disruption of the overall cattle supply, especially in regions such as Texas and an overall reduced supply of cattle in the market. This also can cause uncertainty in the market,” Justice said. However, “prevention of the screwworm entering the U.S. is imperative, as there could be major economic losses associated with the pest with devastating consequences for animal health and welfare.”

Economic concerns

The United States imported 1.23 million head of feeder cattle from Mexico in 2024. Mexico is second only to Canada in terms of supplying beef to the U.S.

However, during “the last five weeks of the year, we imported zero,” said James Mitchell, extension livestock economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “This is important because we typically observe a seasonal high in Mexican cattle imports during December. These cattle are fed in U.S. feedlots before being processed into beef in preparation for grilling season, which spans from Memorial Day to Labor Day.”

Mitchell said the import ban increased cattle prices, particularly in Texas and other border states.

“However, it also had negative effects on feedlots already struggling to maintain capacity due to tighter domestic cattle supplies,” he said.

The potential cost of a New World screwworm outbreak in domestic herds could be substantial, depending on its severity. Implementing an import ban is a logical step to reduce the risk of such an outbreak. Prior to its eradication in 1966, New World screwworms cost the U.S. livestock industry more than $100 million annually, according to a 1991 presentation by James E. Novy, assistant chief of program evaluations and planning of veterinary services for USDA.

What to look for

New World screwworm flies lay eggs on an open wound or around an orifice, and after a few hours the eggs will hatch and larvae burrow into the wound to feed. The maggots are unique in that they have sharp mouth hooks that cause extensive damage, tearing into the host tissue. Unlike other species, these maggots will only feed on living tissue.

“Being vigilant about New World screwworm is the key to keeping it out of the United States,” Midkiff said.

 Early signs for the screwworm are enlarged or draining wounds, discomfort, and the presence of eggs or larvae near superficial injuries, according to APHIS. Other signs in animals — both mammals and birds — may be irritated behavior, head shaking, the smell of decay, evidence of fly strike, or the presence of maggots in a wound.

“If screwworms are diagnosed, then affected animals will be quarantined until daily wound care and treatments of infected animals are successful,” Midkiff said. “If the USDA investigates cases and it is deemed necessary, then additional control measurements including insecticidal treatment of the environment or sterile screwworm fly release may occur.”

If you suspect a screwworm infestation, contact your veterinarian or state veterinarian.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

2024 Avian Influenza Summit to address virus’ impacts on global health beyond poultry

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — While surges in colds, flu and even COVID may come and go, agricultural producers are always on the lookout for avian influenza — and not just in poultry flocks. In 2024, highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected not only in birds, but cattle, swine and humans as well.

MORE THAN FOWL — The 2024 International Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit will feature 55 speakers over four days, addressing the virus' effect not only in birds, but other species as well. (Division of Agriculture image.)

To address the current state of HPAI, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Center of Excellence for Poultry Science will host the International Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit on Sept. 30 – Oct. 3 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

While the general public may be most familiar with the H5N1 strain of HPAI, multiple viruses have infected tens of millions of birds and more than 20 species of mammals worldwide since 2022. In response, event organizers have expanded the scope of this year’s annual summit to address emerging issues affecting cattle, swine, bees, humans and more as part of the “One Health” concept.

This year’s summit will feature 55 speakers over four days, more than doubling the number of speakers at the 2023 two-day conference. More than 1,800 individuals from 81 countries registered for the 2023 summit.

In-person attendance is limited to 200 people and online attendance is limited to 1,000 participants this year. There is no cost to attend either way, but registration is required. To register, visit https://internationalavianinfluenzasummit.uada.edu/registration/. To see a complete agenda listing speakers and topics, visit https://internationalavianinfluenzasummit.uada.edu/agenda/.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Best meat quality, most economical cattle ‘finishing’ diet has more byproduct

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A high-energy diet that includes higher amounts of dry soybean hulls was the most economical choice for Arkansas beef producers who want to “finish,” or bring their weaned cattle up to market weight, on the farm.

FINISHING ON THE FARM — Feeder steers at the Southwest Research and Extension Center were raised on varying diets as part of a cattle finishing study. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

An Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station study conducted at the Southwest Research and Extension Center in Hope showed that a high-byproducts diet, which uses a material that may otherwise be wasted, also provided the best meat quality among three diets tested.

“Cattle producers are looking for alternative methods to finish their cattle and successfully diversify their operations through direct marketing of their products to consumers,” said Daniel Rivera, associate professor of animal science and director of the Southwest Research and Extension Center for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The experiment station is the research arm of the Division of Agriculture.

Rivera said the research team wanted to know the feasibility of keeping “feeder” cattle on the pasture with a high-energy supplement to achieve results comparable to those at feedlots. In the process, they would calculate the cost and measure the impact of different diets. Feeder cattle are weaned calves that have reached a weight between 600 to 800 pounds.

The study stems from supply chain setbacks for meat supply during the COVID-19 pandemic and passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act, which opened alternative markets for cattle producers. The research was funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Beef Council.

“Arkansas is not typically a cattle finishing state,” Rivera said. “We don't have that infrastructure here like they do out West and in the Midwest. A lot of local producers had an interest in finishing cattle, but they didn't have the background or the knowledge base to do it correctly.”

Rivera said the study showed that cattle can be fed on pasture and finished in a similar amount of time as cattle fed at a feedlot, with no negative effect on quality.

The study took place in 2023 and evaluated the effects of three diets on weight-gain performance, carcass quality and meat characteristics of 63 locally sourced crossbred feeder steers, which are young males that have been castrated.

The feeder steers weighed on average 796 pounds at the start of the study. They were divided by body weight, fed assigned diets for 161 days and weighed every 28 days before being shipped to a commercial slaughter facility in Arkansas City, Kansas. Rivera said the facility was used to accommodate the higher number of cows than could be processed at a local facility in a timely manner. The cost of transportation to the facility in Kansas was not accounted for in the study because it was irrelevant to the scenario.

Diets tested

The three diets tested included:

• Conventional feedlot finishing diet with roughage: 10.9 percent bermudagrass hay, 56.2 percent cracked corn, 30 percent corn gluten feed and 2.9 percent mineral mix.

• High-starch supplement fed at 2 to 2.25 percent of body weight, with free access to bermudagrass pasture: 50 percent cracked corn, about 21.6 percent corn gluten feed, 24.5 percent dried distiller’s grains with solubles, 2.9 percent mineral mix and 1 percent limestone for calcium.

• High-byproduct supplement fed at 2 to 2.25 percent of body weight with free access to bermudagrass pasture: 14.8 percent cracked corn, 21.9 percent corn gluten food, 21.9 percent dried distiller’s grains with solubles, 38 percent dry soybean hulls, 2.9 percent mineral mix, and 0.5 percent limestone.

The hull of a dry mature soybean contains about 85 percent carbohydrates and 9 percent protein.

“The reason we chose to test the byproduct diet is because it is more user-friendly,” Rivera said. “Most producers wouldn't run the risk of acidosis or some of the problems that you might see with a high-starch diet that is found in a lot of feedlot type diets.”

Acidosis is when the cow’s digestive system pH is lower than normal and can lead to a lack of appetite, increased breathing and sometimes death.

More ‘Choice’ quality with high-byproduct diet

Rivera said the results of all three diets were statistically similar, with the average weight increasing from about 800 pounds to 1,200 pounds throughout the study. However, the high- byproduct diet offered the best economic return whether the calf was purchased outright or born on the farm.

The percentage of beef that was “USDA Choice” quality grade or higher was 80 percent with the high-byproduct diet, 66 percent with the conventional feedlot diet, and 62 percent on the high-starch supplement diet. “Choice” is second to “Prime” in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s beef quality grading system, which is a measure of palatability of beef, or eating quality. Quality grades are a combination of marbling, which is the fine, small flecks of fat in the steak and maturity, which is how old cattle are at the point of harvest.

“Preliminary performance data shows that we were able to indeed produce a high-quality product,” Rivera said. “They were pretty similar in terms of their body weight and quality.”

The high-starch diet offered the lowest carcass value per head at about $1,958. The conventional feedlot diet provided the second-highest value at $2,021.85 per head, and the high-byproduct diet offered the highest carcass value per head at $2,065.89.

Cost to finish on the farm

Rivera said the cost of increasing the weight of a weaned calf from about 750-800 pounds to a finished weight of about 1,200 pounds was approximately $550 per head for all three treatments.

“If you’re a producer and you’re wanting to start this endeavor, this gives you a blueprint that shows it’s going to cost roughly $500 to $600 per head to get from point A to point B,” Rivera said.

CATTLE STUDY — Michelle Johnson, animal science graduate research assistant at the University of Arkansas, led a study at the Southwest Research and Extension Center testing varying diets on finishing cattle. (Courtesy photo)

Consumer preferences

Michelle Johnson, animal science graduate research assistant at the University of Arkansas, was the lead author of the study. She defended her master’s thesis in July with results from the study, offering evaluations from trained taste panelists who noted there were no sensory characteristic differences in the beef from the three different diets.

Kelly Vierck, assistant professor of animal science, explained that despite being fed a high-byproduct diet or starch supplementation, the cattle fed those treatments met or exceeded the standards set by conventionally fed cattle with no detriment to important beef quality traits, such as tenderness, juiciness, or flavor.

Johnson said beef from the pastured groups, which included the high by-product and high starch diets, had better color stability. Research has shown that while color doesn’t correlate with flavor, consumers prefer bright red color, and color stability indicates longer shelf life, Johnson noted.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Invasive tick found in Boone County cattle, July 11 webinar to address concerns

By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK – A tick found in a Boone County cattle herd has been confirmed as the invasive Asian longhorned tick, known for carrying a parasite that can be deadly to cattle.

TICKING UP – Asian longhorned tick populations are increasing in Arkansas.

The Asian longhorned tick, also known as bush, cattle or scrub tick, was first found in Arkansas in 2018 on a dog in Benton County. The tick can kill its host by swarming the animal but can also transmit a protozoan parasite called Theileria orientalis. One Theileria genotype, Ikdea, can impact cattle by attacking blood cells.

Since its arrival in Arkansas, the Asian longhorned tick has been confirmed in Benton, Independence and Washington counties with Boone County added last month.

Three researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are collecting ticks as part of a broad surveillance project. They include extension entomologist Kelly Loftin; veterinarian and animal science professor Jeremy Powell; and assistant professor of entomology Emily McDermott. The team aims to evaluate the prevalence of Asian longhorned ticks in Arkansas, determine whether Theileria orientalis is present in the tick population and evaluate host preference.

“Surveillance efforts in 2024 began in April and we’ve seen a significant increase in the Asian longhorned tick population from both on-animal and environmental tick collections,” Loftin said. “In our 2023 collection efforts we found eight to 10 ticks at our site in Batesville and this year we found over 200. That site in Batesville has the most dramatic increase I’ve seen.”

In addition to the spread of the tick, more confirmed cases of Theileria orientalis have recently been confirmed in Arkansas cattle with Boone and Searcy counties reporting cases.

“Arkansas producers should be aware of the risk of Theileria infection in their cattle herd, but not alarmed,” said Maggie Justice, beef cattle extension specialist for the Division of Agriculture. “Understanding how the disease spreads and the best methods of prevention are important in helping herds, so it’s important producers utilize resources and knowledge available through their veterinarians and local county extension agents.”

Justice said cattle that are infected may look like those that have been impacted by anaplasmosis, a tick-borne disease common in Arkansas. She added that signs of sickness can make the animal appear weak and “off” with an abnormal attitude, not eating and decreasing gains.

The Division of Agriculture, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association are partnering to host a webinar to discuss how to look for the Asian longhorned tick, signs of Theileria orientalis infection, prevention methods and more.

The webinar will be at 6 p.m. on July 11 and is free to attend. Those interested can register online.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Four States Ag Expo set for Feb. 8

By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture

TEXARKANA, Ark. – Growers and producers from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma will find the latest research-based information on row crops, livestock and forages, forestry, horticulture, integrated pest management, pollinators, mushrooms and more at the Four States Ag Expo on Feb. 8.

EXPO TIME — The Four States Ag Expo in Texarkana brings together ag industry professionals from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. (UADA graphic)

The expo is scheduled from 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. at the Four States Fairgrounds, 3700 E. 50th St. in Texarkana. The event is a joint project of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Experts from both agencies will host workshops throughout the day.

 “We’ll be offering a variety of educational sessions to help our growers and producers learn best practices for their operations,” said Jennifer Caraway, Miller County extension staff chair and one of the organizers. “It’s also a great time to network with others in the agriculture industry.”

Organizers are expecting 350 attendees, Caraway said. She and Arkansas extension agents in Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Sevier, Polk, Howard and Hempstead counties served on the expo planning committee along with agents from Bowie, Morris, Cass and Red River counties in northeastern Texas.

“We’re proud to partner with Texas A& M AgriLife Extension on this event that has been growing in scope for the past several years,” said John Anderson, director of the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. “Our collaboration helps us both of our agencies get research and resources for best practices into the hands of those who make their living in the agriculture industry.”

The expo is free, open to the public and includes a hamburger lunch. Texas Restricted Use Applicators can obtain up to five continuing education units (CEUs) at the expo.

Concurrent sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. and include the following topics and speakers:

8:30 a.m.

• Controlling Biting Flies through Cattle Minerals containing IGRs — Dr. Shane Gadberry, Livestock and Forestry Station director, UADA

• Managing Common Household Pests around the Farmstead — Dr. Jon Zawislak, entomology and plant pathology instructor, UADA

• Native Plants for Pollinators — Phyllis Ballard, Texas Master Gardener

9:45 a.m.

• Growing Cucurbit Crops — Dr. Joe Masabni, assistant professor and extension horticulturist (vegetables), Texas A&M

• Easy Cattle Forage Calculator, Dr. Shane Gadberry, Livestock and Forestry Station  director, UADA

• Corn and Wheat Insect, Disease and Weed Updates — Dr. Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist, UADA

11 a.m.

• Oak and Loblolly Pine Tree Decline, Dr. Vic Ford, associate vice president of agriculture and natural resources, UADA

• Controlling External Parasites of Livestock — Sonja Swiger, professor and extension Entomologist, Texas A&M Greenhouse Management

• Joe Masabni, assistant professor and extension horticulturist, Texas A&M

1 p.m.

• Mushrooms in the Wild — Dr. Vic Ford, associate vice president of agriculture and natural resources, UADA

• Reversing Declining Forage Stands — Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson, professor and extension forage specialist, Texas A&M

• Controlling House Flies around Livestock Barns — Sonja Swiger, professor and extension Entomologist, Texas A&M

2:15 p.m.

• Following the Pesticide Label to Ensure Applicator Safety — Ples Spradley, pesticide assessment specialist, UADA

• Arkansas Restricted Use Pesticide Applicator Training — Jennifer Caraway, Miller County extension agent, UADA

• Texas Auxin Training — Dr. Brian Triplett, Red River County agent, Texas A&M

For more information, visit https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/4-states-ag-expo.aspx.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

U.S. beef cattle inventory lowest since 1962

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — Beef cattle inventories across the United States are at their lowest point in more than six decades, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

STEEP DECLINE — In its bi-annual cattle report, USDA reported a total of 89.3 million head as of Jan. 1, 2023 — 3 percent lower than the total reported a year ago, and the lowest since 2015. Beef cattle — those bred specifically for slaughter and meat sales — declined 3.6 percent, to 28.9 million head, the lowest total recorded by the agency since 1962. (USDA graphic.)

In its biannual cattle report, USDA reported a total of 89.3 million head as of Jan. 1, 2023 — 3 percent lower than the total reported a year ago, and the lowest since 2015. Beef cattle — those bred specifically for slaughter and meat sales — declined 3.6 percent, to 28.9 million head, the lowest total recorded by the agency since 1962.

In “Cattle Market Notes Weekly,” a newsletter focused on the cattle industry, University of Kentucky’s Kenny Burdine and James Mitchell, extension livestock economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, wrote this week that the decline came as no surprise.

“There was no question that the beef cow herd had gotten smaller,” Burdine and Mitchell said. It was “just a question of how much smaller.”

For many producers throughout the country, 2022 had offered a perfect storm of economic and weather-related challenges: input costs such as diesel and fertilizer doubling or even tripling, and a hot, dry summer that only increased reliance on groundwater in the absence of rainfall. For cattle producers in particular, drought conditions offered no replenishment of dwindling forage supplies, leaving many producers to cull deeper into their herds than they might have otherwise preferred. Elevated beef cull prices contributed to an 11 percent increase in beef cow slaughter, according to USDA.

As Mitchell recently pointed out, however, the reduced supply combined with steady demand from the U.S. consumer at least meant greater profitability for those producers with stock to sell.

“There is a pretty substantial biological lag in the beef supply chain,” he said. “What consumers experience at the grocery store is a product of what cattle producers were going through a year or two ago. It takes about two years for a new calf to become the steak on your dinner plate.

“To the extent that we’ve got historically low cattle stocks today, that will lead to tighter cattle production, which means potentially higher beef prices,” Mitchell said. “From the perspective of cattle producers, this also means higher prices. The recent report from USDA just reinforces a bullish outlook on cattle prices for the next couple of years.”

The downward trend in cattle production does not appear likely to reverse itself in 2023. According to USDA’s cattle-on-feed data, the number of cows on feed as of Jan. 1 fell 4 percent from 2022 numbers, to about 14.2 million, marking the first year-over-year decline in beef production in eight years, Burdine and Mitchell wrote.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Drought pressing U.S. cattle inventory numbers to lowest levels since 2015

HEAT WAVES — The United States’ cattle inventory has shrunk to its lowest numbers since 2015 thanks to the drought sprawling across the western half of the country.

By the U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The United States’ cattle inventory has shrunk to its lowest numbers since 2015 thanks to the drought sprawling across the western half of the country.

HEAT WAVES — The United States’ cattle inventory has shrunk to its lowest numbers since 2015 thanks to the drought sprawling across the western half of the country.

James Mitchell, extension livestock economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said total cattle inventories stood at 98.8 million, “falling below 100 million for the first time since 2015.”

Mitchell said the numbers, which came out the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s June 22 Cattle Inventory Report, were somewhat better than expectations.

“While inventories posted a year-over-year decline, National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates were higher than pre-report expectations, with analysts expecting larger decreases in cattle numbers,” he said, adding that the NASS estimates were not a significant departure from pre-report expectations.

“Drought has been the main factor contributing to the decline in the number of beef cows and replacement heifers,” Mitchell said. “Total beef cow slaughter through June is 14.6 percent higher year over year.”

Mitchell said beef and dairy cow inventories were 2.4 percent and 0.5 percent lower compared to July 2022, respectively.

“The report confirms another year of beef cow herd liquidation with little evidence of anyone looking to expand,” he said.

“Regionally, drought pressure this month has been a big concern in the Southeast,” Mitchell said. “The effects of drought are shown in the auction data. For example, auction receipts for Arkansas show a 20 percent increase in slaughter cattle sales.”

For the first 30 weeks in 2021, 20,942 head of slaughter cattle went to auction. This year that number rose to 25,033.

The full report is available on the USDA-NASS website.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Cattle herds plummet nationally as slaughter cattle sales in Arkansas balloon

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

The first tangible signs that the beef cattle industry in Arkansas is retracting are now visible. Cattle farmers throughout the South and West are culling herds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics (NASS) report.

As of July 1, there were an estimated 98.8 million head of cattle nationwide, a 2% drop in total from 2021, the report states. It’s the lowest cattle inventory level in the U.S. since 2015 when the industry endured a severe collapse during the fall of that year.

Drought conditions have spread throughout the South and West and now are impacting nearly every state in the country including Alaska and Hawaii, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In Arkansas three counties – Fulton, Sharp, and Randolph – are classified as D3 or in extreme drought. The only category that is worse is D4 or exceptional drought.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/07/cattle-herds-plummet-nationally-as-slaughter-cattle-sales-in-arkansas-balloon/

U.S. cattle markets face rising grain costs with Russian invasion of Ukraine

by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

While the fighting in Ukraine is half a world away from the U.S. the impacts are being felt in the food supply chain, according to Derrell Peel, extension livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University.

Peel said the war continues to inject uncertainty into global commodity markets creating direct and indirect impacts on producers in the food chain. He said cattle markets are seeing indirect impacts from the volatile crop markets for grains which are fed to live cattle for finishing ahead of slaughter.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/03/u-s-cattle-markets-face-rising-grain-costs-with-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/