Production of Cattle, Hogs Remains Big Business
Published Sep 16, 2008
Cattle graze in a pasture near Amarillo.
The High Ground of Texas can certainly “steak” much of its reputation on the cattle industry.
Approximately 30 percent of Texas cattle and calves sent to slaughter each year come from the region, and ranchers cite several reasons why these animals thrive so well in this locale.
“We have a good climate,” says Jim Waterfield, a rancher in the Panhandle and former president of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. “Our cattle don’t die in the summer due to oppressive heat and humidity, and they are comfortable in the winter so that ranchers can continue to grow them big without any problem.”
Waterfield also points out that West Texas hasn’t become urbanized like so many parts of the United States, which means there is ample land for grazing.
“I’m about 100 miles from Amarillo and then 50 miles from the next-largest city, so there is quite a bit of open range out here,” he says. “In Canadian where I live, there isn’t much farming. It’s mainly a grassy area where cattle can graze during the summer before they are moved into the feed yards.”
NO MUD, NO FUSS
The overall economic impact of the cattle industry in The High Ground exceeds $20 billion annually, with an estimated 25,000 jobs related to the cattle-feeding business.
“I run a 20,000-head feed yard and sell to all the major meatpackers, so my cattle products are shipped all over the world,” says Walter Lasley, owner of Walter Lasley and Sons Inc. near another Panhandle town, Stratford. “I agree that the first advantage we have here in the cattle business is the climate, which is ideal for the performance of cattle.”
Lasley says the paucity of rain in West Texas also is good for ranchers. “Rain leads to mud, and cattle won’t eat as much or perform as well in muddy conditions,” he says. “Our business is all about fat animals, and fat animals don’t like mud or heat. In the north Corn Belt, they have a slogan that by July 4 you either sell them or you smell them. We don’t have that problem here.”
Lasley adds that the several meatpacking plants in The High Ground work closely with the ranchers. “With current diesel and gasoline prices so high, ranchers and truckers don’t have nearly the freight costs in this region because the packing plants aren’t too far away,” he says. “That’s a nice advantage.”
HIGH GROUND HOGS
Not just the cattle industry is doing well in the Panhandle. So is the pork industry. For example, Texas Farm LLC in Perryton, with 32,500 sows capable of producing 680,000 market animals annually, is one of the major pork producers not only in the state but also in the nation.
“They are virtually the same as [us cattle ranchers] when it comes to wanting to raise the fattest animals for market,” Waterfield says of the hog farmers. “The old saying certainly holds true around here when talking about cattle and hogs: They grow ’em big in Texas, and they grow ’em really big in West Texas.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Jesse Knish
Current Weather Conditions In Stratford, TX (79084)
Snow, and 34 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
