Georgia Cattlemen May Cull Herds
GEORGIA - Because of Georgia's extreme summer drought, cattlemen will have a tough time feeding their herds this winter, say University of Georgia livestock specialists.
23 October 2007
2 minute read
"I don't see how we will not have to liquidate cows due to the lack of hay supplies we have in the state going into this winter."
Curt Lacy, a livestock economist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
"It's a very precarious situation right now," said Curt Lacy, a livestock economist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "I don't see how we will not have to liquidate cows due to the lack of hay supplies we have in the state going into this winter."
Lacy recently completed an economic analysis and feed outlook for Georgia's cattle industry that he has presented at meetings across the state. Cattlemen know the situation is tough, he said. The numbers show it.
When summer weather is good, cattlemen can collect as much as 2 million tons of hay and have plenty for winter feed. This year, due to the drought, they'll harvest between 600,000 and 1 million tons, enough to feed Georgia's estimated 580,000 beef cattle for 60 to 100 days.
"It's going to be tight," he said.
On average, one cow can eat 30 pounds of hay per day in the winter.
Hay supplies will be tight across the Southeast, too, Lacy said. The drought hit Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and the Carolinas as hard as Georgia or worse this summer. Hay prices keep climbing, too. A ton costs $82 now, 70 percent more than a decade ago.
