VOA标准英语2011--US Drought Could Trigger Higher Beef Prices

US Drought Could Trigger Higher Beef Prices

 

Beef prices may be headed upward due to a severe, lingering drought in the southern United States which is putting a major financial squeeze on the region’s cattle producers.

Across Texas cattle country, livestock¹ auctions³ have been unusually busy. As grazing lands dried up, cattlemen have been selling their livestock earlier in the season and at a younger age than normal.

Worst in decades

"It's been tough," says Amarillo-area rancher Ashley Nolan. "We've sold pretty much all of our herd⁴ throughout the summer little by little waiting on the rain, and it never came. The well dried up."

In fact, just one-fifth the normal amount of rain and snow have fallen this year in the north Texas ranching⁵ communities in the Texas Panhandle.

Rancher Rick Kellison says it's the worst he's ever seen. "I was arrogant⁶ enough to say I'd been through some droughts before. I'm over 60. I hadn't."

The drought has raised the price of every type of cattle feed, including "gin trash," unwanted parts of the cotton plant produced as a by-product7 of the region's many cotton gins.

The drought has forced Kellison to cut his herd nearly in half. As grazing land has dried up, hay prices have shot up to five times their normal price. That has Kellison looking for alternatives.

Even 'trash' is expensive

"Gin trash" - unwanted parts of the cotton plant produced as a by-product of the region's many cotton gins - usually provides a cheap source of feed. But the drought has devastated⁸ the region's cotton crop, too. Even gin trash costs 10 or more times as much as usual.

Kellison has spent more than a decade breeding cows to produce more meat with less feed. Now, the fruits of his labor⁹ are in jeopardy¹⁰.

"When I have to liquidate¹¹ a 5- to 6-year-old cow that's in her prime, I've sold my factory," he says.

'Most of these cows have names'

Kellison says some in his situation are getting out of the business. "If you just look at the numbers, and there's no emotions involved, the thing to do is sell out and punt."

Livestock auctions have been busy this year as ranchers have sold off their herds12.

He says it's a bad idea for a cattleman to get attached to his livestock, but, "most of these cows have names. They're what we take care of first."

So he and his family are holding on for now.

The good news for Texas ranchers is that their cattle are still getting fairly good prices at auction² despite the glut¹³ on the market. That's helping¹⁴ many cattlemen get through the drought.

Rising beef prices

The bad news for consumers is that the rapidly shrinking beef herd means prices will likely be going up. And that herd will take years to rebuild.

However, Kellison adds, "The fear I have is, it's not over yet. And we don't know when it'll be over."

The La Niña weather pattern that contributed to this year's drought appears to be back for another year. And Texas weather officials say dryer-than-normal weather could last for a decade or more. A drought that has already cost the state's farmers and ranchers more than $5 billion is not through with them yet.

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 ranching   

adj.放牧的

参考例句：

• They cleared large tracts of forest for farming, logging and ranching. 他们清除了大片的森林以经营农耕、采伐与畜牧。
• This is a trade center in a ranching and oil-producing region. 这是一个牧场与产油区的贸易中心。

6 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

7 by-product   

n.副产品，附带产生的结果

参考例句：

• Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
• The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。

8 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

11 liquidate   

v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产

参考例句：

• A unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company.全体投票一致通过停业清理公司。
• They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.过去他们曾毫不犹豫地铲除对手。

12 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

13 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。