031051 Beef Prices Please Cattle Ranchers

Seguin, TX -- Cattle prices are soaring to the highest levels in at least a decade after herds were trimmed down.

"I'm going in a direction where I can get the best money for my cattle," Mel Grones, a cow and calf producer, said.

Higher demand and a mad cow disease outbreak in Canada have lead to big bucks for beef.

"The last three years have not been very good to us. And so we've seen those production numbers go down -- either limiting the number of cows that they have, environmental conditions can also play a role in that as far as drought conditions are concerned," said Travis Franke, Guadalupe County Extension Office agent for agriculture. "When you lose cow numbers, then you're going to lose calf numbers." High demand and low supply has cattle ranchers in area counties reaping the benefits.

When cattle producers reach the point where the numbers get to a low level, then demand is not met; and therefore, prices go up.

In 1998, cattle prices were $61.10 per 100 lbs. In 2002, the price had risen to $67.10 per 100 lbs. An average cow weighs about 1,100 lbs.

The drought and previously low prices caused Texas cattle raisers to cut down their herds and even forced some out of the business. The first signs of improvement came last year when the drought eased up and prices began to climb.

"This may help in terms of our ranchers actually being able to turn a profit this year and putting a little money away for future endeavors," Franke said.

This past year has been a great one for the cattle industry. With prices going up, that only increases the value of cattle and gives ranchers more opportunity to make a profit.

"Before, you had to really market your cattle to catch it at the high points," Grones said. "This year, it's been high for a considerable period of time."

Since business has remained positive for a while, the cattle industry is making a profit. And with prices at an all-time high, that brings in more cattle producers.

"When our numbers increase, the chances of prices going down are very good," Franke said.

He said cattle producers will ride high when they can and try to survive when prices are down.

Experts predict beef prices will go down but probably not until after the holidays.

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