From fluctuations in market prices to a tick-borne cattle parasite to rising diesel costs, Missouri livestock producers have dealt with multiple challenges this year.
The black vulture, a predator that has been impacting south Missouri farmers for several years, could pose yet another issue as it continues to migrate north.
Nationwide, input costs, a lasting drought and diseases have driven cattle numbers to their lowest level in 75 years.
Drew Bolinger, who helps manage the family-owned Versailles Livestock Auction, said these challenges have driven prices up.
“If you don’t have the calves there to sell, to get to send to producers out west, then that makes your cattle more valuable,” he said. “The less cows they have, the more valuable they’re going to be, cause everyone’s going to be fighting for them.”
And if black vultures attack cattle, that only exacerbates the problem.
Calves most at risk
Missouri Farm Bureau Director of Market Development and Commodities Theo Rieckhoff said there have been black vulture sightings in many counties in mid-Missouri, including Benton, Cole, Moniteau and Morgan.
“A producer who hadn’t experienced it his entire ranching career before this year may have to face a brand new predator that they’ve never had to deal with before,” Rieckhoff said.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services District Supervisor Dan McMurtry said while other animals may harass or injure calves, black vultures are generally the only predators that kill them.
“Cattle prices are very, very high right now,” McMurtry said. “When you lose a calf, that’s a huge loss. Less than a year old calves are bringing over $2,000 apiece. “
The Missouri Farm Bureau has partnered with the USDA and the Missouri Department of Conservation to help prepare farmers to ward off vultures. The effort includes radio ads, social media posts and a billboard on Interstate 70.
Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife management coordinator Alan Leary said producers are uneasy about how and when to prepare.
“People are on edge. I’ve had people call and say, ‘I saw black vultures five miles from my property, somebody better come out and get rid of them,’” Leary said.
McMurtry said there have been no confirmed black vulture sightings north of I-70, but he won’t argue with anyone who reports one.
“We're not going to tell people, no, you did not see one. That'll be corrected pretty soon one of these days.”
How to deal with the birds
Though damaging in more ways than one, the birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, so they can’t be legally killed without a permit.
In 2021, the Missouri Farm Bureau received authorization to permit producers the killing of black vultures, sometimes known as buzzards. And the number of permits issued quickly shot up, with more than ten times as many issued in 2025 as in 2022.
Meanwhile, government officials have also advocated measures such as removing dead trees so vultures have fewer places to roost, birthing calves when the birds are less active or hanging fake vulture carcasses to scare them away.
Producers may not wait for a permit
As cattle farmer Freddie Keaton waited to pay for his cattle purchase at a recent edition of the Versailles auction, he said he wouldn’t wait to get a permit, because he feels that takes more time than most producers have.
“I know you’re supposed to contact [the Missouri Department of Conservation] and get permits and all that. Who has time for all that? I’ve got enough stuff to worry about,” Keaton said.
Aside from possible legal issues, there’s a cost to either protecting calves from vultures or replacing them if they’re killed – and when those costs are passed on to consumers, a hamburger gets even more expensive.
