The dry and hot conditions are putting a lot of stress on ranchers, who are looking to keep cattle watered and fed throughout the winter.

A dryer spring and summer resulted in hay crops severely underperforming earlier in the year, which when combined with dryer conditions in earlier years means feed reserves are very low.

This combination means that ranchers will likely have to sell off a higher portion of their herd this year, in order to save costs on what will likely be exorbitant prices on feed.

Cattle Auction houses will likely see a lot more traffic due to all the cattle being sold, says owner/operator of Chopper K auction mart Chad Levesque.

"We're just getting ready to have our first sale here on Thursday, and we've got a lot booked in here on Thursday."

"There's a lot of pressure going on in agriculture right now and one of them is trying to find feed for cattle to get through the winter," said Levesque, "I'd say everyone's a half to a third of what they have last year so it's definitely, we're gonna see a lot more cattle coming through the sale ring due to the long drought."

Beef prices from the cattle are likely to stay a bit normal for the time being, but by the fall, prices will take a dip, says Levesque.

"Obviously it's going to be a buyer's market," said Levesque, "You're gonna see a lot more pressure when these cattle start coming through. I would say right now you're probably going to see some decent pricing and by November there'll be some tough sledding."

Levesque says that a lot of the ranchers who have come through the auction house seem to be having a tough time with the current conditions.

"I think the mood isn't in a positive state right now, I think everyone's under a lot of pressure. These guys are resilient, they've been through a lot of things over the years and leave it to a rancher to find a way to get through this one too - and they will. They'll persevere, and hopefully comes together and helps one another out."

"Guys have had generations over generations of cowherds they've developed their cowherds on certain genetics, and by no means do they want to be selling off," said Levesque, "Especially in a low like this, with a drought, it really forces a guy's hand. I really feel that right now these guys just need to keep working as hard as they can to round up as much feed as they can and hopefully it pays some dividends."

Levesque also says he's happy to finally have sales that have most COVID-19 restrictions lifted.