“Consumers are going to pay more because we’re going to have less beef. Fewer cows, calves, less beef production and increasing [demand for] exports.”-David Anderson, Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Texas is officially suffering its worst drought ever!  The decline in cows just more proof.

Texas is now seeing the biggest drop in cattle since the U.S. Great Depression in 1930s.  This year they lost more than 600,000 cattle.  Not all to death directly caused by drought, or early slaughter, some were moved out of state to, literally, greener pastures.

It’s not just Texas, but Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas also saw an increase in loss of cattle due to drought.

This past year beef prices for U.S. consumers went up 9%. The USDA predicts another 5.5% increase for 2012.