Some feedyards are providing "cow" rations to help drought-ravaged ranches maintain breeding stock. The drought of 2011 has turned many Southern Plains ranches into deserts, leaving some producers no choice but to cull their herds and flood auction sales and packing plants with a steady stream of open and bred cows and heifers. But Frontera Feedyard, Muleshoe, TX, is helping ease the pain. It's among a handful of feed-yards providing a few pens for cow maintenance programs. And while it's a service that some ranchers have taken advantage of, it's only a "very small portion" of the several million cattle on feed in the Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico region, says Don Close, Texas Cattle Feeders Association director of marketing.
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