Though this year’s conditions have been more suitable for raising cattle, it’s still going to take some time to rebuild the U.S. cattle herd.

"We’ve had better pasture conditions, likely lost fewer cows and retained more heifers just due to the feed supply situation," Lee Schulz, livestock economist with Iowa State University, told ag lenders and farmers at the Tri-State Agricultural Lenders Seminar in Dubuque recently.

But have those better conditions meant ...