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Show 67 calves, they now are worth $ 500 a piece before today's price. So what is happening, the drought has pushed many of those poor cattle onto the market. No one has any means to take care of them so no one wants them, they are just not selling. ADVANCE PLANNING FOR DROUGHT CONDITIONS Mr. CANNON. We had a question a little earlier what we could do to plan better and part of what this Committee is trying to figure out is how to help in the future. It seems to me, as big a property owner as you are, it is very hard to have more impoundment of water to take you through the season. So pretty much unless you had more knowledge about what the future was going to be, it seems you are pretty limited to maybe not planting, maybe preserving water for the cattle for drinking as opposed to watering pasture, maybe storing silage and everything, so you have something to feed them in advance. But those are pretty limited options, it seems to me. Is that not the case? Mr. BOWLER. I have tried to say, as I have testified, this is the worst that I have ever seen it. I believe I have been closer to it than anyone that I know of, being involved in it all my life, and this is the worst I have ever seen it. In hard times the government has released grain products when they purchased surplus. And farmers made salt meal and they have been able to make their cattle survive and they can go through a year. Sometimes they have made low income loans available, or even at times grants available to help those farmers, and if in fact next year is a good year that could help them and they could survive the problem. I don't know what next year will be. Mr. CANNON. SO what we want to focus on a little bit here is what would it take financially, as Dr. Hayes was talking about earlier, to get a little better sense of what our capacity is to help in advance? Mr. BOWLER. I agree wholeheartedly with what I heard the doctor and Mark talk about in the beginning, that's about if you had and if I could tell now what is going to happen next summer, next winter. If I knew what was going to happen this winter I would be able to make more meaningful decisions on what to do with my livestock operation. Mr. CANNON. Thank you for your testimony. I am going to conclude at this point and thank you, Panel. Does anyone want to ask any questions of the panel? We appreciate your information. The problem is severe and we are aware of it. Thank you for your information. And if there is no other business we will adjourn the hearing. [ Whereupon, at 2: 50 p. m., the hearing was adjourned.] |
