Last month's winter storm could have an effect on grocery prices across the region.
Oklahoma ranchers who are more used to winter weather were largely able to protect their herds, unlike their counterparts in neighboring states.
From American Public Media's Marketplace: A Blizzard's Toll
The storm killed about 30,000 dairy cows in Texas and New Mexico, as 12-foot-tall snowdrifts overwhelmed the animals.
Darren Turley, the director of the Texas Association of Dairymen, told The Journal Record’s Brian Brus recovery will be slow because it takes about two years for a calf to fill a milking slot.
“That’s a long time to replace those animals without going out and procuring some from the market,” he said. “I think most producers will be looking wherever they can to get back to the numbers they had before. You might see some of those sales in Oklahoma as well.” The Dairymen group and other producers, such as Brett Morris, a farmer-rancher in Ninnekah, said that although the storm devastated the local industry, consumers are unlikely to notice a difference. The total U.S. milk output in 2015 was the highest ever for the fifth straight year, with supplies of raw milk topping processing plant capacity, according to the USDA. “Milk production coming into the spring – what we call the spring flood – will provide plenty of milk to move through the larger market,” said Morris, who runs a diversified, 600-acre operation of dairy and beef cattle, wheat and alfalfa.
In Oklahoma, the largest dairy producer said it won’t have to raise price:
Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores, maintains a Holstein and Jersey herd on a 24,000-acre farm in Follett, Texas, near the Oklahoma panhandle, and a 10,000-acre farm at its Tuttle headquarters. Company spokeswoman Amanda Beuchaw said the western herd didn’t suffer any losses in the storm. And because Braum’s keeps all of its raw milk for its own operations, any market fluctuations due to Goliath will have no effect on Braum’s retail chain sales.
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