Ogallala Livestock Auction Sees Surge in Cattle Amid Drought and Fire Recovery

June 8, 2026 

In Ogallala, Nebraska, the record-breaking sales have far outpaced measurable rainfall and after a weekend in the 90s, dry is becoming a four-letter word but the high cattle market has been a bright spot now that the wildfires are behind them.

Jay Nordhausen, owner and manager of Ogallala Livestock Auction, said drought conditions and the recent wildfires have made this spring one like no other at the barn and on the ranch. He said while they haven’t split any pairs yet, the majority of cattle are headed out of the region to meet the demand of tight supplies.

Listen to Western Ag Network's Rachel Gabel and Jay Nordhausen.

A lot of cattle out of the Sandhills north of Ogallala are coming early and we’re getting a large influx of fire area and drought area,” he said. “But not only that, we’re seeing a lot of cattle from south and west of here, too.”

He said in the Sandhills, a surprisingly large number of producers have been able to locate grass for the summer, while others are choosing to dry lot. He said the pairs coming to town are older pairs and opens.

“They’re fighting everyday to hold on to as many as they can,” he said. “We haven’t had the real high quality pairs come to town yet. Guys are wanting to hold onto them as long as they can and take advantage of this high cattle market this cycle and going into this fall.”

He said the wildfires have had a major effect on the Sandhills and the producers working to recover.

“A lot of the old guys I’ve talked to have said we’ve all seen droughts, we understand that, but none of them in our area have ever seen the magnitude of fires like we’ve seen this year,” he said.

Nordhausen said trucks have left Ogallala all winter bound for Kentucky, Tennessee, Oregon, Montana, the Dakotas, Texas, and New Mexico. 

Source: Western Ag Network