Drought and weaker prices press Oklahoma cattle operations as Wichita Falls logs a 105-degree August

Worsening drought and weaker cattle prices constrained cattle operations in late summer 2026, Oklahoma State University Extension reported Aug. 31. The Extension said Oklahoma auction volumes fell 31.7% from mid-July through the end of August.

North Texas felt the same heat. In its August climate summary for Wichita Falls, issued Sept. 1, the National Weather Service reported that daily highs averaged 105.0°F for the month. The city's 1991–2020 August normal is 96.6°F, and the average was 92.1°F in August 2025. The hottest day in August 2026 reached 111°F.

Across the Red River, the Oklahoma Mesonet reported that drought spread from less than half of Oklahoma at the end of July to the whole state by Aug. 25. Severe drought or worse grew from 35% to more than 70% of the state over four weeks, the Mesonet said. It was the first time all of Oklahoma had been in at least moderate drought since Nov. 1, 2022. Statewide, August averaged 86.5°F, or 5.7°F above normal, the third-warmest August since records began in 1895. Rainfall averaged 0.85 inches, 2.38 inches below normal, the fifth-driest August on record.

In North and Central Texas, the National Weather Service's September update described a reversal of the drought improvement seen in late spring and early summer. Persistent heat and scarce rain depleted soil moisture and stressed vegetation, and Dallas–Fort Worth reached 52 consecutive days without measurable rain by Sept. 5, tying its seventh-longest recorded streak.

OSU Extension said prolonged heat was damaging pastures. In its Aug. 10 report, the Extension said feeder and fed cattle prices had fallen during July. By Aug. 31 it reported that dry ground and warm soil made early wheat planting for grazing unlikely.

The Extension's livestock economist attributed the drop in auction volumes partly to heat and weak prices and partly to limited cattle supplies. Under those conditions, the economist judged near-term herd rebuilding unlikely.

The national herd was already shrinking. USDA counted 86.2 million cattle and calves on Jan. 1, 2026, down from 86.5 million a year earlier, and beef cows numbered 27.6 million, down 1%.

Texas A&M AgriLife reported Sept. 16 that 500–600-pound steers at auctions in Tulia, Dalhart, Wildorado and Beaver, Okla., averaged roughly $5 per pound in August and about $4 the week before. AgriLife linked September price weakness to higher corn prices, reduced packing activity, seasonal pressures and uncertainty about beef imports. It cautioned that auction prices vary with cattle quality, weather, buyer participation and sale volume. Those figures come from comparison markets, not from Gainesville or Durant.

The drought worsened after August. NOAA's Oct. 22 Southern Plains update reported that 84% of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas was in drought by the end of September, the largest regional extent since 2022. October rain brought short-term improvement, but long-term precipitation deficits remained.

USDA's Livestock Forage Disaster Program provides assistance for qualifying drought-related grazing losses. Current rules allow one monthly payment after four consecutive weeks of severe drought and two monthly payments after severe drought in seven of eight consecutive weeks, subject to the program's other eligibility requirements.