Nebraska fires burn grazing lands, threaten plans to grow US cattle herd

By Tom Polansek

CHICAGO, March 19 (Reuters) - Massive wildfires have burned vast swaths of grazing lands in Nebraska, endangering cattle producers' plans for production increases that could help ease record-high U.S. beef prices.

The loss of grasslands in the second-biggest cattle-producing state removes a feed source for herds and could delay ranchers from expanding as they struggle with widespread drought, state and industry officials said.

Fueled by fierce winds, fires have burned nearly 775,000 acres since last week, covering an area about the size of Rhode Island, according to data from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. It added the causes of the fires are undetermined.

The largest Morrill Fire was about 67% contained as of Thursday after being first reported on March 12, the agency said.

That amount of land is a grazing resource for about 40,000 cows, said Sherry Vinton, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Though cattle deaths were thought to be minimal, producers could delay expansion plans if they cannot find alternative pasture lands or feed, she said.

"This will have a definite impact because you are in the heart of cattle country there and that's the area where you're going to primarily have breeding stock," said Vinton, a fifth-generation rancher.

Nationwide, cattle inventories have dwindled to a 75-year low over the past seven years as an extended drought raised feeding costs and high prices drove producers to send animals to slaughter instead of keeping them for breeding.

Tight supplies pushed up beef prices. They also hurt profits for meatpackers paying more for cattle to slaughter, and Tyson Foods TSN.N closed a large beef plant in Nebraska this year.

HERDS EXPAND SLOWLY

A larger U.S. herd could increase beef production and help to bring down prices amid strong demand from consumers. The rebuilding process has been slow, though, due to lingering dryness, high interest rates that make it expensive to expand, and concerns among ranchers over whether cattle prices could sink.

The expansion process depends on favorable weather, said Craig Uden, who raises cattle near Cozad, Nebraska, and is president of the Nebraska Cattlemen industry group.

"When you have a setback like this and you actually go backwards, it doesn't help," he said.

Uden, who purchased 200 extra mother cows in May as a cautious move toward growing his herd, said dryness had slowed expansion in Nebraska and the wildfires made producers feel less confident that weather conditions would support larger herds. His herd was not hit.

SEARCH FOR PASTURE LANDS

The search for alternative grazing lands could be difficult, ranchers said, with 70% of the nation's cattle in areas suffering from abnormal dryness or drought. Last month, fires burned pasture lands in Kansas and Oklahoma.

In Nebraska, land set aside for federal conservation could potentially be considered for grazing, Vinton said. Drought has worsened after easing last summer, and ranchers said some cattle will be moved out of state due to the fires.

Producers need options because they said it could take one to three years to heal sandy ground that was damaged.

Fires also destroyed fencing and hay being stockpiled to feed cattle during dry times, said Brenda Masek, a producer in Purdum, Nebraska, and former Nebraska Cattlemen president. She was hoping for rain to help burned land recover.

"If we don't get rain, there's going to be a lot of cattle that are unfortunately going to have to hit the markets or be shipped to a feedlot," she said. "It's definitely going to slow the expansion of the herd."