Drought Could Hurt Meat Production in North America for Years
2021-09-20
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1Farmers who raise cattle are losing money in areas from western Canada to the states of northern Mexico.
2They are having trouble finding enough food for their animals because of very dry conditions known as drought.
3Some farmers are buying feed for their animals from other parts of North America, but it is too costly for others.
4Dianne Riding raises cattle in Lake Francis, Manitoba.
5She is a rancher.
6She told the Reuters news agency that she recently had to sell 51 of her cattle, about 40 percent of the herd.
7Some of the cattle were young females who were supposed to give birth to many babies in the future.
8She said selling the young cows was "gut-wrenching," or sad.
9She may get money now for selling the cattle, but her earnings will not be as high in years to come.
10"That's your future," she said about the young cows.
11Other ranchers and cattle experts said if people like Riding keep selling their animals, the supply of beef will go down and the cost of meat in North America will go up.
12The drought is affecting areas throughout western North America.
13Fields where cows eat grass are dry.
14Fruit is not growing well in Washington.
15And California is suffering its worst wildfire season.
16Climate scientists say global warming will make droughts happen more often.
17But some farmers think the current drought is part of a cycle that will end sometime soon.
18Even Riding, who had to sell her cows, thinks the drought will soon ease.
19Gloria Montano Green works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
20She said there is a clear link between the drought and climate change.
21"We're seeing climate change," she said.
22With dry fields, some farmers in western Canada brought in food for their cattle from Prince Edward Island, which is over 3,000 kilometers to the east.
23Brian Perillat works for CanFax, a company that follows the market for cattle in Canada.
24He said in a normal year, ranchers cull about 10 percent of their older animals.
25But because of the drought, they will probably cull two or three times more than that.
26His company has no record of such big reductions in herds in one year going back to 1970.
27Cattle live throughout the U.S. so not all herds are affected.
28But research from U.S. Drought Monitor shows that ranchers in some areas are going to reduce the size of their herds by more than usual this year.
29Pat Boone raises cattle in New Mexico.
30He said he reduced his herd by about half this year.
31"Our land is hurt, and it's hurt badly," he said.
32It will take time for him to buy and raise more cattle.
33"We're not going to be in any hurry," he added.
34Mike von Massow studies agricultural economics in Ontario.
35He said reducing the number of cows today affects the supply of cattle for many years.
36"You have this hangover," he said.
37Riding, the rancher in Manitoba, said even if the weather gets better soon and the fields turn green again, it will take several years for young cows to start having babies.
38And if the ranchers have trouble, people in the U.S. will pay more for beef.
39Von Massow said in Canada, after a 2014 drought, meat prices rose by 25 percent and stayed high for another two years.
40Fernando Cadena is head of Mexican ranching company Carnes Ribe, based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
41He said farmers must wait for the fields to get healthy again.
42"For months, it just didn't rain," he said.
43Greg Schmidt is chair of a group of businesses in Alberta, Canada, that feed cows right before they are killed for food.
44He said all parts of the cattle business will have problems.
45"This is going to ripple through our industry for years," Schmidt said.
46Steve Arnold is a rancher in California.
47His land is about 300 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles.
48He said there has been less rain than usual for 12 of the last 15 years.
49But this year is the worst.
50"We've had dry stuff but not like this," he said.
51I'm Dan Friedell.
1Farmers who raise cattle are losing money in areas from western Canada to the states of northern Mexico. 2They are having trouble finding enough food for their animals because of very dry conditions known as drought. 3Some farmers are buying feed for their animals from other parts of North America, but it is too costly for others. 4Dianne Riding raises cattle in Lake Francis, Manitoba. She is a rancher. She told the Reuters news agency that she recently had to sell 51 of her cattle, about 40 percent of the herd. 5Some of the cattle were young females who were supposed to give birth to many babies in the future. She said selling the young cows was "gut-wrenching," or sad. 6She may get money now for selling the cattle, but her earnings will not be as high in years to come. 7"That's your future," she said about the young cows. 8Other ranchers and cattle experts said if people like Riding keep selling their animals, the supply of beef will go down and the cost of meat in North America will go up. 9The drought is affecting areas throughout western North America. Fields where cows eat grass are dry. Fruit is not growing well in Washington. And California is suffering its worst wildfire season. 10Climate scientists say global warming will make droughts happen more often. But some farmers think the current drought is part of a cycle that will end sometime soon. Even Riding, who had to sell her cows, thinks the drought will soon ease. 11Gloria Montano Green works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She said there is a clear link between the drought and climate change. 12"We're seeing climate change," she said. 13With dry fields, some farmers in western Canada brought in food for their cattle from Prince Edward Island, which is over 3,000 kilometers to the east. 14Brian Perillat works for CanFax, a company that follows the market for cattle in Canada. He said in a normal year, ranchers cull about 10 percent of their older animals. But because of the drought, they will probably cull two or three times more than that. His company has no record of such big reductions in herds in one year going back to 1970. 15Cattle live throughout the U.S. so not all herds are affected. But research from U.S. Drought Monitor shows that ranchers in some areas are going to reduce the size of their herds by more than usual this year. 16Pat Boone raises cattle in New Mexico. He said he reduced his herd by about half this year. 17"Our land is hurt, and it's hurt badly," he said. It will take time for him to buy and raise more cattle. "We're not going to be in any hurry," he added. 18Mike von Massow studies agricultural economics in Ontario. He said reducing the number of cows today affects the supply of cattle for many years. "You have this hangover," he said. 19Riding, the rancher in Manitoba, said even if the weather gets better soon and the fields turn green again, it will take several years for young cows to start having babies. 20And if the ranchers have trouble, people in the U.S. will pay more for beef. 21Von Massow said in Canada, after a 2014 drought, meat prices rose by 25 percent and stayed high for another two years. 22Fernando Cadena is head of Mexican ranching company Carnes Ribe, based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. 23He said farmers must wait for the fields to get healthy again. 24"For months, it just didn't rain," he said. 25Greg Schmidt is chair of a group of businesses in Alberta, Canada, that feed cows right before they are killed for food. He said all parts of the cattle business will have problems. 26"This is going to ripple through our industry for years," Schmidt said. 27Steve Arnold is a rancher in California. His land is about 300 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles. He said there has been less rain than usual for 12 of the last 15 years. But this year is the worst. 28"We've had dry stuff but not like this," he said. 29I'm Dan Friedell. 30Rod Nickel and Tom Polansek wrote this story for Reuters. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 31Do you think the farmers will be able to recover from the drought? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 32__________________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34cattle -n. large farm animals raised for milk and meat 35rancher -n. a person who lives and works on a large farm for raising animals 36herd -n. a group of large animals that live and are kept together 37beef -n. the meat of cattle 38cycle -n. a set of events that happen again and again over time 39hangover -n. the unpleasant effects of something that happened at an earlier time; a sick feeling that comes after drinking too much alcohol at an earlier time 40ripple -v. something like a wave that spreads out over time