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Minnesota cattle producer adapts to weather extremes

A cow/calf producer in southwest Minnesota is adapting to weather extremes.

Grant Breitkreutz of Redwood Falls describes 2023 as “another wild ride.”

“We started out wet, turned dry, just another one for the record books I guess.”

He tells Brownfield they turned away custom cattle in anticipation of the drought.

“We actually went through the year with a third of the cattle inventory we normally do, and we made it and we’re still grazing now. But it’s kind of hard on the income without having the extra cattle there. But we knew it was the proper thing to do so next year if we get moisture we’re going to have plenty of grass, we didn’t hurt anything.”

Breitkreutz says conditions rivaled the historic drought of 1988.

“It was bad, but it’s just amazing what we could produce. With the technology, everything we’ve got now, better management, we really actually produced quite well this year.”

He says he’ll be trying different products to help improve soil health on cropland and pastureland.

Brownfield interviewed Breitkreutz during the Minnesota Cattle Industry Convention in Alexandria last month.