The beef cow herd is at its smallest level in decades sending beef prices near all-time highs. NDSU Extension Livestock Marketing Economist Tim Petry expects herd rebuilding to be a lengthy process. “This last year was the fifth year of liquidation all because of drought,” said Petry. “At the end of 2022, 76 percent of our beef cow herd was in drought and now the latest Drought Monitor shows only 18 percent of our beef cow herd is in drought so we’ve seen significant improvement in the last year.” North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana have all seen an increase in replacement heifers “so that is an indication that there is herd rebuilding, but it is going to be slow.”
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