Cattle numbers rebound after a tough decade LARAMIE, WY (wpr) - Wyoming's cattle population dropped about 20 percent during the drought of the past decade, but rebounded slightly last year.
The numbers are in a newly released annual report by federal and
state agricultural agencies.
The Wyoming Agricultural Statistics report says the cattle count
in Wyoming dropped from 1.65 million in 1998 to a 20-year low of
1.31 million in 2008. This January's count was up 3 percent from
the year before.
Wyoming Department of Agriculture Director Jason Fearneyhough
says other factors could have played into the decline
but drought definitely contributed.
He says ranchers sell off cattle when drought-plagued ranges
can't accommodate as many animals.
A drought gripped Wyoming starting in 1999 until conditions
eased in mid-2008.
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