A dry spell across most of Texas might soon cost you more at the grocery store.
North Texas isn't as bad off -- the area is under a lesser "severe" drought classification. But without more rain, ranchers won't be able to raise more cows.
“With the drought situation that we’re seeing in Texas right now, you’re going to see record low cattle numbers fall even smaller,” said rancher Missy Bonds, of the Bonds Ranch in Saginaw.
Without rain, Bonds’s grass can’t grow.
Recent rain saved her, but unless there’s more, she won’t be able to support all her cattle and will have to get rid of some, she said.
“At that time, those cattle will probably be sold,” Bonds said.
Cowherd numbers are down, so she’ll get a good price. But shoppers at the grocery store won't because herd numbers have sunk over the past 20 years, she said.
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She said the drought could make things worse because ranchers won't be able to replace cattle they've sold.
To avoid higher prices in the next couple of years, the area needs rain now.
“And if we can get another 3 to 5 inches between the middle of June, I think that we will be OK in this area,” Bonds said.
But if the area doesn't get more rain, corn and wheat crops could dwindle, raising those prices, too.
