Fewer Cattle Means Higher Beef Prices
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Where’s the beef? On the Donnell Century Farm northeast of Jackson the cows numbered 170 two years ago. The number is now down to 100 cows. “With land prices continuing to go up more of my fathers age is deciding to retire taking the land and not the cows, which don’t make as much money as the row crop the corn and soy bean,.” said Andrew Donnell. Tennessee ranks 9th in the country in beef cows. The total Tennessee cattle inventory is down two years in a row. The current count is 1,970,000. “When you have a good price for your product and high customer demand then that’s a pretty good business scenario,” said UT-West Agriculture and Research Director Bob Hayes Severe drought and farmers choosing to make money with corn and other crops instead of cattle are a few reasons why the cattle numbers are down. “We understand that the price is going up our costs have gone up. This is a record price for corn. It is a record price for feed,” said Donnell. Soon those cows will be headed to a dinner plate in our state, Mississippi and Arkansas. “I’ve always heard my whole life that farmers are typically the first in the recession and the first out of the recession and it just seems to be holding true,” Donnell said.
