Kansas Farm Groups Helping Ranchers Affected by Grass Fires; Beef Exports to South America Increase

After a year of devastating wildfires in the northwest, now Kansas farm groups are collecting donations for ranchers affected by the massive grass fires in southern Kansas. The fires have burned more than 300,000 acres of rangeland near the Kansas-Oklahoma border southwest of Wichita. Currently, the Kansas Livestock Association says cash is the best donation while ranchers work to assess the damages. The Livestock Association is also coordinating hay donations as many ranchers affected by the fire may need to feed hay all summer long to their livestock.

Beef exports from South America are expected to increase 11 percent this year, that’s because of favorable currency values, improved access to importing countries and increased beef availability. Cattle producers in Brazil have been encouraged to hold cows from slaughter to deal with high calf prices driven by low calf availability, increasing domestic prices. Meanwhile, weaker currency has made Brazilian beef more competitive on international markets. Also helping boost South American beef exports, China continues to import more beef this year while another exporter, Australia, expects beef production to remain low.