http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

v 2.4.3.0

This drought year is worse than 1988 by the reckoning of a rancher and a livestock auctioneer in northeast central North Dakota. An Eddy County rancher was concerned about his lack of forage for his 350+ cattle as some pasture has no forage for cattle, while other pasture was 25% of normal. Corn was planted to supplement the pasture forage, but it wasn’t clear that the corn would produce any kernels. Hay was pricey and involves transportation costs to bring it home. Cattle were afflicted with dust pneumonia, and one cow died from it. The Rugby Livestock Auction was selling an “astronomically high” number of cattle each week, with more than 2,700 cattle, including more than 700 cow-calf pairs. A sale in normal times might be about 600 to 700 head every other week. Some ranchers were even selling entire herds. The stress and difficulty of the drought increased communication and cooperation among rancher friends as people tried to help each other through this challenging situation. Grand Forks Herald (N.D.), June 28, 2021 Little forage has grown in Montana and North Dakota, due to drought, leaving cattle producers to cull cattle. DTN/Progressive Farmer (Burnsville, Minn.), June 16, 2021 The rain did not fall to green up North Dakota pastures, so ranchers were selling cattle. More than 4,200 head of cattle were sold at Rugby Livestock Auction in the north central part of the state. Typical sales for this time of year would be 400 to 600 head maybe once a week or every other week. The price of hay and corn were very high, making it more economical to sell cattle than feed them. Many ranchers were selling 25% to 50% of their herds at low prices, and the sales may continue for a while because there will not be feed for winter since grass was not growing. Buyers traveled from South Dakota and Idaho. KX Net (Bismarck, N.D.), June 8, 2021