America’s smallest cattle herd in 70 years means rebuilding will take years and beef prices could stay high

By Fox News · Fox News

America’s ranchers are facing their smallest cattle herd in 70 years. Years of punishing drought, rising costs and an aging ranching workforce have thinned herds across the country. Ranchers and agricultural economists alike say rebuilding will take years and beef prices aren’t likely to ease anytime soon. "The biggest thing has been drought," said Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University. BEEF PRICES ARE CLOSE TO RECORD HIGHS — BUT AMERICANS AREN’T CUTTING BACK He said years of dry weather have wiped out grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough feed or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell cattle early, even the cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making it hard to rebuild. "It’s not going to be a quick fix, you’re not going to solve it overnight," Belasco told Fox News Digital. Belasco said the aftereffects of years of drought are still being felt and until ranchers can rebuild their herds, consumers will keep paying the price. "The primary reason you see prices so high is because we haven’t seen any kind of inventory rebuilding," he said. "Until you see that rebuild, you probably won’t see prices coming back down again." That slow rebuilding is a challenge for the cattle industry, according to Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University. "The fact of the matter is there’s really nothing anybody can do to change this very quickly," Peel said. "We’re in a tight supply situation that took several years to develop, and it’ll take several years to get out of it." Peel, who specializes in livestock marketing, said there’s no quick way to ease pressure on beef prices, since it takes roughly two years to bring animals to market and several years to rebuild herds. TRUMP'S BEEF IMPORT PLAN IGNORES KEY ISSUE SQUEEZING AMERICAN CATTLE RANCHERS Even as ranchers wait for herds to recover, parched conditions are working again…