Gideon Long
speaker
121 appearances
3 recordings
1 series
first heard Jul 2026
last heard 24 Aug
Gideon Long’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 3 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 2.
Appearances
And then it declines again, and then it builds again.
But it's been exacerbated in the last couple of years by drought.
Well over 60% of the cattle in the US are now grazing on land which has been impacted by drought.
And what does that mean?
It means that ranchers have to buy feed instead, and that makes it much more expensive.
When they're facing these tough conditions and when prices are high for their calves, the temptation is to sell now rather than keep their cows for breeding.
That means fewer cows for breeding and fewer calves in the years to come.
No, it's not just the weather.
They're also facing a threat from a flesh-eating parasite called screwworm.
Now, the US hasn't had screwworm in its herd for decades, but it was detected in Mexico a couple of years ago and it is moving north.
So the Americans have effectively shut the border with Mexico to cattle.
And that's quite a big deal because before this outbreak, around a million animals were moving north annually into the US.
So that's also squeezing supply.
They are, and that's another reason why the herd isn't rebuilding faster, because the average American cattle producer is in his or her late 50s or 60s, close to retirement, and some say that their sons and daughters are not necessarily willing to follow in their footsteps.
Well, so far, everyone is getting more money.
The rancher's calf is well up on last year.
We heard that from Eric.
Brenda's told us the feedlot's finished animal has more than doubled in price since 2021.
But at every step, the inputs, the cost of the inputs has also gone up.
Feed, fuel, equipment.
Showing 81–100 of 121 · page 5 of 7
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