High cattle sales in western South Dakota
7/2/2021 8:59:08 PM
CATEGORIES:
Agriculture
Business & Industry
Plants & Wildlife
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Lawrence County, SD
Saint Onge, SD
Meade County, SD
Union Center, SD
Start Date: 6/26/2021
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With no grass and no hay, a Meade County rancher had to sell some cattle. Some claimed this was the worst drought they had seen in 60 years or more.
Cattle sales were unusually high in St. Onge in Lawrence County, moving 3,000 head weekly at a time of year when there would usually be about 300. Cow/calf pairs and replacement heifers were being sold.
A weighty concern was what to feed cattle in the fall as hay was already high priced, and some ranchers won’t even get one cutting. Given the dry winter and spring, stock ponds and dugouts were dry.
The Black Hills Pioneer (Spearfish, S.D.), June 26, 2021
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