Livestock income is the second greatest source of revenue for the average American dairy farmer. And beef prices reached record levels earlier this year, thanks to a series of droughts in the south and shrinking herd populations.

But prices dropped again this fall and are at risk of dropping even lower. Pete Hardin and Bert Zipperer explain why, in this edition of “The Milkweed.”

Image courtesy: University of Wisconsin-Extension via Flickr.