TULSA, Okla. — Extreme drought conditions are causing serious concern among Oklahoma ranchers. As a result, the Tulsa Stockyard is seeing a larger number of cattle being auctioned off.
The drought is causing a hay shortage and drying out ponds, leaving many ranchers with very limited options to sustain their herds.
“These are huge sales here recently and people are looking at can I financially sustain a herd through the year," Rancher Brandon Seabolt said.
Seabolt and Ralph Williams are ranchers. They come to the Tulsa Stockyards three times a week. They typically downsize their heard at the end of October in preparation for winter. However, this year's drought has them bringing in cattle much earlier.
“There’s no grass, no rain, so there’s nothing for them to fatten up on, so they’re trying to sell them now before they start losing weight," Seabolt said.
He said the severe drought has impacted the hay crop, leaving many ranchers struggling to find enough supply to make it through the year.
“There hasn’t been enough rain to get 2 or 3 cut-ins like they usually do off of their hay fields," Seabolt said.
Add in high fuel costs and shipping hay from out of state is too expensive, which is why many of them sell the herd instead. Adding to the heartache, letting go of the herd they've spent a lifetime building is not easy.
“A lot of ranchers are just selling cows. I mean we had one guy here yesterday that brought in 45 nice cows, and he didn’t want to sell them…but he doesn’t have a choice," Joedon Eaves, owner of the Tulsa Stockyards said.
Eaves said the number of cattle ranchers are bringing in has more than doubled.
“Today we’ve got a little over 5,000 head and we’ve probably had about 1,000 cows and typically we would have 300-400 cows," Eaves said.
The drought not only hurt rancher's herds but also their bottom line.
“It’s kind of a double whammy this year with the economy and the drought, so it’s just kind of a double stacked big blow to the economy and the drought. So, it’s just kind of a double stacked big blow to the ranchers," Eaves said.
The ranchers said consumers can also expect to see a large supply of beef up front in the market, but that's going to cause a beef shortage in the future, until the herds are built back up.
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