Ah, here’s something that we should know about. See the drought forecast through April 30.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/seasonal_drought.html
Sometime in the near future, global agricultural interests will be unable to keep meat prices down by taking revenues from other businesses/debt, IMO. It will be difficult to tell, though, as to when to buy livestock. I’m holding off on getting yaks for at least another year (high altitude and cold here for year-round cattle that consume more hay). Hay’s very difficult to find and afford in the West.
We have hay coming out of our ears around here (Mobile).
Here's a little tidbit of info that I learned from my archaeology studies.
Cows use their food three times more efficent than do horses. Archaeologists use the ratio of cow/horse bones in an area to determine if deaths were drought related. More horse will die and sooner than cows.