# Cattle prices forecast to jump when drought breaks as farmers forced to sell breeding stock - ABC News

> Persistent drought in Queensland is forcing farmers to send more breeding females to slaughter, and the national herd has fallen to about 25 million head, a level not seen since the 1990s. Industry leaders expect cattle and beef prices to rise once the drought breaks, and the Bureau of Meteorology sees no improvement until March.

- Date: 2020-01-08 · published 2020-01-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region Australia · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/55034-cattle-prices-forecast-to-jump-when-drought-breaks-as-farmers-forced-to-sell
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Liquidation of breeding stock shrinks future calf supply, which supports higher cattle prices in coming years. Near-term beef supply is also tighter, which is bullish for live cattle.

## Read by commodity

- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2023-03-30 | [U.S. livestock: CME live cattle set contract high as cash prices jump - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10373-u-s-livestock-cme-live-cattle-set-contract-high-as-cash-prices-jump-grainews.md) | +2.1% | +7.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-03-24 | [Record prices, farm debts make it hard for livestock producers to rebuild herd - ABC News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54067-record-prices-farm-debts-make-it-hard-for-livestock-producers-to-rebuild-herd.md) | +2.9% | -8.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2021-09-03 | [Insight: Drought forces North American ranchers to sell off their future \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45006-insight-drought-forces-north-american-ranchers-to-sell-off-their-future-reuters.md) | -1.0% | -3.0% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-11-13 | [All Drought, No Cattle: Low herd supply may drive record-high prices next year](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38615-all-drought-no-cattle-low-herd-supply-may-drive-record-high-prices-next-year.md) | +0.8% | +2.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2021-11-10 | [The Cycle of Drought, Cowherd Liquidation and Higher Feeder Cattle Prices](https://feedsoft.ai/events/44208-the-cycle-of-drought-cowherd-liquidation-and-higher-feeder-cattle-prices.md) | +0.7% | +6.3% |

## Sources

- abc.net.au: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-08/cattle-price-increases-forecast-as-drought-continues/11797332

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.