Iowa farmers shop for cattle in drought-stricken Texas

CEDAR RAPIDS - The most severe drought Texas has experienced in a single year is presenting opportunities for farmers in parts of the country with more moisture, like Iowa.

Some local farmers recently have bought reduced-priced cattle from Texans forced to deplete their herds as this year's devastating drought dries up the grass and water needed to keep the animals alive.

“There have been some cattle from Texas that have been purchased and placed here, closer to available feed sources,” said Dan Loy, beef specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “Producers (in Iowa) are talking about it, and I've talked to individuals producers who are doing it.”

Loy said he has no way to gauge how many Iowa farmers have or are shopping in Texas for cattle this year, but he said cows are in demand as the nation's cattle count drops to its lowest since the 1950s.

“The beef herd has declined in Iowa and in other parts of the country,” he said. “And it can be retained in two ways – retaining heifers or purchasing cows.”

But, Loy said, not all the Texan cattle are in stellar physical shape.

“They do need some special help to improve their body condition,” he said. “And there are some cautions that our vets have given producers.”

The extension's beef veterinarian has warned Iowa farmers to keep cattle bought from other herds and regions, like Texas, isolated for a period of time for biosecurity.

“So, if they are carrying some diseases that might not be in this region or in the herd, they don't pass those on to the animals in the herd,” Loy said.

Al Johnson, a farmer in north central Iowa, said he partnered with a man in Missouri three months ago to buy 18 cows from Texas, and he knows other Iowa farmers who have done the same.

His Texas cows, many of which were billed as pregnant, cost about $800. The same in Iowa would have cost between $1,500 and $1,800, he said.

“They were real bargains,” Johnson said, “but we got what we paid for. We have learned some lessons.”

Fewer of the cows than thought were pregnant, he said, and many of them were in relatively poor physical condition.

“They have not been as successful as we would like them to be,” he said. “It has taken them some time to get acclimated to our abundance of feed.”

Johnson said he bought the cattle with the goal of using them as receivers for embryo transplants, but they're not healthy enough to be mothers.

“They don't have to be tremendous quality animals, but they need to be healthy and vigorous,” he said. “Most of the cattle are in relatively poor physical condition because of their nutrition level.”

Johnson said he's still hoping to use some of the cows as recipient mothers come spring.

“But it didn't prove to be as successful as we thought it would be,” he said. “What looked like bargains weren't necessarily.”

Not all local farmers have had his luck, however.

“We have had several neighbors make it work,” Johnson said.

Robert Bulechek, of Kalona, said he recently bought cattle from Texas but wasn't interesting in talking about his buying experience. The same was true for Don Stickle & Sons Farms Inc. in Anamosa. Don Stickle said his son bought 300 cows from Texas a few weeks ago, but he didn't want to comment for this story.

Bill Hyman, executive director of the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas, said farmers like Johnson have been coming from all over to snatch up the cows that Texas can't feed.

“In the last year, we have sold down a third of our cattle,” he said. “We have very little hay, and what is available is too expensive.”

Most of Texas has had less than 50 percent of the normal annual precipitation for a 12-month period, making it the driest year in state history. Temperatures also have been exceptionally high.

Hyman said out-of-state farmers are getting Texan cattle for “basement bargain” prices because “folks down here don't have a choice” but to sell.

“If we had rain and grass, we wouldn't be selling,” he said.

Hyman said he'd rather see the cattle sold to outside farmers than go straight to market, but selling livestock will have long-term consequences.

“Someday it will rain, and when it does, it's going to cost us twice to buy these cattle back,” he said.