By Josh Maples
Southern Ag Today
Drought has been a problem for beef cattle producers for nearly all of 2026. On the October 27 U.S. Drought Monitor map, 52 percent of the nation’s beef cows were in areas of drought (D1 or worse), and about one-third (32 percent) were in severe drought or worse (D2-D4). These figures weight each county’s drought conditions by its beef cow numbers from the 2022 Census of Agriculture. This year’s drought stands out over the long run. The share of beef cows in severe drought or worse peaked at 49 percent in late April. That is the highest since the 2012-13 drought, when it reached 52 percent, and above the peaks of the 2006 and 2022 droughts (43 and 44 percent).