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.
