DAMASCUS, Ark. — The heat and drought can have a huge impact on livestock, and now those same things have forced some ranchers to make the tough decision to sell off their cattle.
Lane Pruitt, owner of Pruitt's Mid-State Stockyards said that typically selling cattle around this time of year is a bit slower than normal, but because of the hot and dry conditions, he has now had double the amount at the auction barn.
"They're coming to town early this year because there's just nothing to feed them. A lot of folks are running out of water," Pruitt said.
Lane Pruitt compared the drought that we've recently been in, to a few years back, during the 2012 drought.
"We need a lot of rain for a lot of days," Pruitt said.
Producers like Clint Linn, owner of Damascus Feed and Supply, have been lining up to sell their cattle since they haven't been able to cut enough hay to feed their herd.
"Not only were we struck with no rain, but our early cutting of hay was disabled by high fertilizer costs. So, therefore, because of the cost of fertilizer, we didn't produce the hay that we normally would. So that's really put us in a really bad position," Linn said.
Linn also mentioned that producers have recently been in a lot of trouble and he has seen it firsthand while at his feed store.
"Hay, you know, a lot of times we'll provide or sell it to our customers, and we're having to go further and further away to buy just to come in the retail sector, the smaller producers, and as you get further away, it gets more expensive," Linn added.
"I've always said that we're one drought away from the cow herd in central Arkansas being gone. I just hope and pray that everybody can hold on. If you can hold on, it is going to pay off," Pruitt said.
Linn said that as a result of all this, the general population could soon be impacted because beef prices will inevitably increase as the cattle herd continues to get smaller.