The cow heard in Texas, the US’s leading cattle producing state, has declined by over 600,000 animals, the largest one year decline ever recorded. The decline is the result of the worst drought in Texas’s history, which gripped the state between January and November.

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Texas’ worst single-year drought in history is thought to have cost the state’s farmers and ranchers $5.2 billion. The drought, the result of the La Nina weather pattern, which creates dry conditions in the Southern states, saw Texas receive only 46 percent of its average rainfall this year.

Farmers and market analysts have said the declines, coupled with rising domestic and overseas demand, will result in drastic price rises for beef. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated the drought could result in beef prices rising by a further 5.5 per cent next year, following a 9 percent increase in 2011.

Since January, the number of cattle in the USA has dropped by around 617,000 or 2 per cent, mostly attributed to a 12 per cent reduction in Texas’ herd. Agriculture department officials have said the drop-off would have been larger but for increases in herds from northern plains states such as North and South Dakota and Nebraska. The national herd currently stands at around 30.9 million animals.

Although this year’s decline is numerically the largest decline Texas has ever seen, the state lost a larger percentage of its beef cows between 1934 and 1935, victims of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era. This is the second time in three years Texas has been hit by drought.