Free Republic

Thanks to the horrific drought which is absolutely devastating ranching in the Southwest, ranchers are now in “panic mode” and are selling off their cattle at an unprecedented rate. In fact, some are choosing to sell off their entire herds because they feel like they don’t have any other options. In recent days, seemingly endless lines of trailers waiting to drop off cattle for auction have gone viral all over social media. Everybody is talking about how they have never seen anything like this before, and if the drought in the Southwest persists the lines could soon get even longer....

I know that video clip going around looks awful, but let me give some context here. There has been extreme heat and humidity in Western Kansas and cattle have died. This is normal, and 10,000 head total statewide is not a “mass die-off that will cripple the beef supply.” Not even close. There are roughly six million cattle in Kansas. Of those, over two million are “on feed” in confinement feedlots in the western half of the state. In the former United States, something like 125,000 head of cattle are slaughtered per day, Monday through Friday, with a reduced kill...

CHICAGO, June 6 (Reuters) - A fifth-generation cattle rancher and consultant plans to build the country's largest beef plant in South Dakota with capacity to slaughter 8,000 head of cattle a day. The $1.1 billion project could help address the Biden administration's concerns about rising food prices and a lack of competition in the meat sector, though it would not be up and running until at least 2026. read more The project is spearheaded by Kingsbury and Associates and Sirius Realty, both run by Megan Kingsbury of a South Dakota ranching family. She told Reuters she expects construction on the...

Today — May 28 — is National Hamburger Day, and it’s well justified. Most of us savor a burger off the grill, the kitchen skillet, or from one of the 80,000 burger restaurants in the U.S. with a market over $100 billion. It’s hard to imagine America without the hamburger, but change is in the wind. Yes, a changing climate is changing the burger. Let’s start with the main ingredient in the typical burger — beef. Unfortunately, like humans, the health of beef cattle are at increasing risks from higher temperatures and droughts. Next comes the bun, which is typically...

IntroductionAt first glance, 2022 cattle prices are higher than 2021. At $140, slaughter steer prices are 17.5% above 2021 prices, but even with higher prices, farmers and ranchers will travel a rocky road to profitability, paved with inflation and higher input costs in 2022. This Market Intel addresses the USDA’s Cattle on Feed report released on Friday, May 20, 2022, the forces driving cattle prices higher and how inflation and input costs will affect the bottom line for cattle farmers and ranchers. It will further walk through the combination of supply and demand factors that will affect the 2022 market...

A federal judge this week denied a temporary restraining order sought by environmental groups that would block grazing in six eastern Oregon pastures. The Capital Press reports U.S. District Judge Michael Simon said the plaintiffs haven’t shown that turning cattle out on the pastures will cause irreparable harm to sage grouse or to rangeland research. He said continued grazing isn’t likely to irreparably harm the ability of environmental plaintiffs to enjoy undisturbed sagebrush grassland, since the pastures have long been grazed and are rested on a rotating basis. The case was filed against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management by...

nce a rarity, cows with light blue or dark ultramarine hides may again be glimpsed grazing on the Latvian countryside among the regular brown, black or white spotted cattle. The unique and hardy breed, driven to near extinction during the Soviet era, has made a comeback over the last few decades as an unlikely symbol of Latvian national identity.... In 2000 there were only 18 blue cows in Latvia, but today they number around 1,500 -- thoroughbreds as well as hybrids. Originally found only on the Baltic coast in the Kurzeme region...

Animal rights activist Ellen Kessler, a gubernatorial appointee to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, submitted her resignation from the board at 3:26 p.m. Monday. Kessler's letter, released by the governor's office, said her resignation would be effective at the close of business on Feb. 11. "I realize that some of my actions have caused anger and discomfort and that I was unprofessional in my judgment," Kessler wrote. "I apologize to you and the citizens of our great state and wish you the best of luck as you continue to make Colorado the best in the nation." Kessler, appointed to...

Corn imports into Western Canada from the U.S. have risen dramatically following the 2021 drought, but cattle feeders in Alberta say unpredictable shipments are not keeping up with demand. In some cases, feedlots say they are scraping together the last of their feed supplies, and are banking on delayed trains still arriving in time to maintain rations. According to the latest numbers from the USDA, Canadian corn imports in October and November were more than four times higher than the previous year, while there were more than 2.2 million tons in U.S. sales into Canada on the books that were...

What started out as accusations of cattle rustling in Arizona has risen to accusations of money laundering, which has become so contentious there are now multiple defamation lawsuits. The cowboys accused of illegal activity, including theft, have filed lawsuits against other cowboys who they believed spread information about their alleged involvement. But the accused state that they did not disseminate the information, it was the accusers’ own associates who did so. Now the situation has gotten so contentious no one dares to investigate the allegations of cattle theft and money laundering, and no one will talk on the record. It...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Like other ranchers across the country, Rusty Kemp for years grumbled about rock-bottom prices paid for the cattle he raised in central Nebraska, even as the cost of beef at grocery stores kept climbing. He and his neighbors blamed it on consolidation in the beef industry stretching back to the 1970s that resulted in four companies slaughtering over 80% of the nation’s cattle, giving the processors more power to set prices while ranchers struggled to make a living. Federal data show that for every dollar spent on food, the share that went to ranchers and...

Like other ranchers across the country, Rusty Kemp for years grumbled about rock-bottom prices paid for the cattle he raised in central Nebraska, even as the cost of beef at grocery stores kept climbing... Federal data show that for every dollar spent on food, the share that went to ranchers and farmers dropped from 35 cents in the 1970s to 14 cents recently. It led Kemp to launch an audacious plan: Raise more than $300 million from ranchers to build a plant themselves, putting their future in their own hands.... ...Crews will start work this fall building the Sustainable Beef...

Source: Provided by Ed AshurstThe cattle ranching industry in Arizona is being torn apart due to corruption and crime. It has split longtime cowboys against each other. Much of it comes down to cattle rustling that has been allowed to thrive, with close to 3,000 heads of cattle stolen from at least 32 owners over the past few years. There may also be money laundering connected to the Mafia and Mexican drug cartels. The corruption became so bad the Arizona Department of Agriculture tasked an investigator to look into it a few years ago. He gave the results of his...

Source: Provided by Ed AshurstArizona used to have some of the best livestock laws in the nation. Now, the cattle ranching industry is being torn apart due to a dismantling of the successful laws and regulations that used to prevent cattle theft. Close to 3,000 head of cattle have been stolen from at least 32 people in the last few years. Thieves brazenly stole over 100 cows with calves from well-known attorney and judge Tom Kelly in Yavapai County. Cowboys who once made a good living raising and selling cattle are finding substantial portions of their herds decimated, and when...

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows that more than 80 percent of North Dakota is now in severe drought. This lack of precipitation is causing problems across the state. “We’ve been calving since the end of January, so it’s been beautiful calving weather and that side has really, really been good. But as we move into spring here, of course, there’s going to be a lot of concern of are we going to be able to produce the forage and the grass people need to be able to feed the cattle,” said Will MacDonald of...

The outbreak was caused by a 2019 leak of contaminated waste gas at a pharmaceutical plant that manufactures animal vaccines. The firm was found to be using expired disinfectants, allowing residual bacteria to be released through exhaust gasses. It is thought the leak began in late July and continued until late August last year. In December, it was reported that 181 people at a nearby veterinary research facility had been infected, and in January, authorities revoked the plant’s vaccine production licence. The full scale of the outbreak has not been widely reported until now. In addition to the confirmed 3,245...

“House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) was the target of opposition research hits that a local newspaper, owned by a broader national chain, dutifully reprinted on behalf of Fusion GPS without disclosing to its readers the questionable source of the information.”

A second crew member has been found alive from a ship carrying livestock that capsized and sank during a typhoon off the southern coast of Japan. But another storm expected to hit the area over the weekend is likely to hamper the search for 40 other people still missing. The Gulf Livestock 1, a 450-foot ship with a cargo of some 5,800 cows en route from New Zealand to China, issued a distress call early Wednesday Japan time near the island of Amami Oshima, north of Okinawa. The ship's "mayday" was sent from an area affected by Typhoon Maysak, a...

Many big cats – including lions, leopards, and tigers – are ambush predators. This means that they rely on stalking their prey and retaining the element of surprise. In some cases, being seen by their prey can lead them to abandon the hunt. We tested whether we could hack into this response to reduce livestock losses to lions and leopards in Botswana's Okavango delta region. This delta, in north-west Botswana, has permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded plains which host a wide variety of wildlife. It's a UNESCO world heritage site and parts of the delta are protected. However, though livestock...

Just a few closures of meat packing plants are putting the entire meat industry on the brink of collapse. A congressman who also raises cattle sounded the alarm for years that burdensome regulations needed to go. Now will Congress act in time? Representative Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) is gaining bipartisan support for his PRIME Act, which stands for Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act. The bill has been sitting in the House and the Senate for nearly a year, meaning it could be fast tracked to President Donald Trump if the political will is there. The legislation lifts restrictions on...