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• Among those already feeling the pain is Kansas rancher Nathan Pike, who has sold off 600 cows over the past couple of years. With just 130 pregnant cows left, he considered trying to buy back a few animals this winter in the hopes of better weather next spring, but cows cost significant more now than when he sold his animals because there are fewer left.
• "We are gambling," said Pike, 80. "We are just trying to figure out a way to make a living."
• In New Mexico, cattle numbers are down for the third straight year and the number of ranchers looking to sell off their herds and get out of the business continues to grow. The overall herd is down to 1.3 million animals, the fewest since 1991.
• "It's trite, but it is the perfect storm," said Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association. "We have no rain, there's no feed readily available, what is available costs too much and the cost of transportation has increased. We're just in a bad place."
• Despite the hardships many ranchers are facing, Cowan said the selling off of herds by longtime ranching families could open an opportunity for younger ranchers who can't afford to buy land to work with those who still own property.
• "We continue to look for the silver lining," she said.
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• FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- Fargo Beer Co. officials say they have sealed the deal on a brewery in the city their product is named for.
• Company spokesman Aaron Hill says the lease for the building officially begins on March 10. The brewery will be located at 610 North University Drive in downtown Fargo.
• The company is currently brewing its beer at Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls, Wis. The product is then shipped to North Dakota and sold at taverns in the Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., area.
• Hill says brewing at the Fargo building should begin this summer.
• The brewery plans to distribute beer in several area states and is hoping to produce 10,000 barrels, or about 315,000 gallons, within three years.
• Says Hill, "Needless to say we are very excited."
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