# Hungry cattle escape fences for roadside grass as Virginia drought leaves farms short on feed

> A prolonged drought in Virginia cut first hay harvests to about one-third of normal for some farms, threatening feed for pregnant cows. Farmers have sold calves early and rationed hay, and cattle have escaped fences to graze roadside ditches. Most of Campbell County missed needed rain.

- Date: 2026-11-04 · published 2026-11-05T00:06:00.075Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/80613-hungry-cattle-escape-fences-for-roadside-grass-as-virginia-drought-leaves-farms
- Commodities: [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Regional feed shortages can push herd liquidation and reduce feeder cattle supply in the near term, while raising demand for purchased feed. The effect on national prices is small at this scale.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bullish ▲
- FCATTLE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FCATTLE | 2021-05-19 | [Reviewing Feed Costs, Drought, and Feedlot Inventory \| Ohio BEEF Cattle Letter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10275-reviewing-feed-costs-drought-and-feedlot-inventory-ohio-beef-cattle-letter.md) | -0.4% | +14.9% |
| FCATTLE | 2017-08-10 | [How will summer drought and this fall’s corn crop affect feeder cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69610-how-will-summer-drought-and-this-fall-s-corn-crop-affect-feeder-cattle.md) | +0.5% | +2.8% |
| FCATTLE | 2018-06-07 | [Drought has changed the cattle price outlook - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/64642-drought-has-changed-the-cattle-price-outlook-brownfield-ag-news.md) | -0.7% | +4.0% |
| FCATTLE | 2019-07-17 | [Corn Price Impact on Feeder Cattle Prices \| Ohio BEEF Cattle Letter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/58222-corn-price-impact-on-feeder-cattle-prices-ohio-beef-cattle-letter.md) | +0.8% | -9.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2022-09-30 | [National feeder and stocker cattle report \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39716-national-feeder-and-stocker-cattle-report-capital-press.md) | -0.1% | 0.0% |
| CORN | 2021-05-19 | [Reviewing Feed Costs, Drought, and Feedlot Inventory \| Ohio BEEF Cattle Letter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10275-reviewing-feed-costs-drought-and-feedlot-inventory-ohio-beef-cattle-letter.md) | -5.0% | +3.5% |
| CORN | 2022-02-28 | [Soybean Prices Rise as South American Drought Reduces Harvest \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14055-soybean-prices-rise-as-south-american-drought-reduces-harvest-feed-and-grain.md) | +10.4% | +14.4% |
| CORN | 2022-08-09 | [Coping with high feed prices, drought in 2022
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40182-coping-with-high-feed-prices-drought-in-2022-the-cattle-site.md) | +2.0% | -0.1% |

## Sources

- thecooldown.com: https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/virginia-drought-cuts-farmer-hay-harvest/

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