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Farmers who raise cattle are losing money in areas from western Canada to the states of northern Mexico.
从加拿大西部到墨西哥北部各州，养牛的农民都在赔钱。
They are having trouble finding enough food for their animals because of very dry conditions known as drought.
由于非常干燥的天气，也就是所谓的干旱，他们很难为他们的牲畜找到足够的食物。
Some farmers are buying feed for their animals from other parts of North America, but it is too costly for others.
一些农民从北美其他地区为他们的牲畜购买饲料，但这对其他人来说太贵了。
Dianne Riding raises cattle in Lake Francis, Manitoba.
黛安娜·里丁在曼尼托巴省的弗朗西斯湖养牛。
She is a rancher.
她是一名牧场主。
She told the Reuters news agency that she recently had to sell 51 of her cattle, about 40 percent of the herd.
她告诉路透社，她最近不得不卖掉了51头牛，约占牛群总数的40%。
Some of the cattle were young females who were supposed to give birth to many babies in the future.
其中一些是小母牛，它们将来应该会生很多小牛。
She said selling the young cows was "gut-wrenching," or sad.
她说，卖掉这些小母牛是“令人痛心的”，或者说是可悲的。
She may get money now for selling the cattle, but her earnings will not be as high in years to come.
她现在可以卖牛赚钱，但她的收入在未来的几年内就不会这么高了。
"That's your future," she said about the young cows.
“那是你的未来，”她谈到这些小母牛时说。
Other ranchers and cattle experts said if people like Riding keep selling their animals, the supply of beef will go down and the cost of meat in North America will go up.
其他牧场主和养牛专家说，如果像里丁这样的人继续出售他们的牲畜，牛肉供应量将会下降，北美的肉类价格将会上升。
The drought is affecting areas throughout western North America.
干旱正在影响整个北美西部地区。
Fields where cows eat grass are dry.
母牛吃草的土地是干的。
Fruit is not growing well in Washington.
华盛顿的水果长得不好。
And California is suffering its worst wildfire season.
加利福尼亚州正在遭受最严重的野火季节。
Climate scientists say global warming will make droughts happen more often.
气候科学家说，全球变暖将使干旱更频繁地发生。
But some farmers think the current drought is part of a cycle that will end sometime soon.
但一些农民认为，目前的干旱是即将结束的周期的一部分。
Even Riding, who had to sell her cows, thinks the drought will soon ease.
就连不得不卖掉母牛的里丁也认为旱情很快就会缓解。
Gloria Montano Green works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
格洛丽亚·蒙塔诺·格林在美国农业部工作。
She said there is a clear link between the drought and climate change.
她说，干旱和气候变化之间有明显的联系。
"We're seeing climate change," she said.
她说：“我们正在目睹气候变化”。
With dry fields, some farmers in western Canada brought in food for their cattle from Prince Edward Island, which is over 3,000 kilometers to the east.
由于土地干燥，加拿大西部的一些农民从东部3000多公里的爱德华王子岛为他们的牛带来了食物。
Brian Perillat works for CanFax, a company that follows the market for cattle in Canada.
布莱恩·佩里拉特就职于CanFax，它是一家追踪加拿大肉牛市场的公司。
He said in a normal year, ranchers cull about 10 percent of their older animals.
他说，在正常年份，牧场主会宰杀大约10%的大牲畜。
But because of the drought, they will probably cull two or three times more than that.
但由于干旱，他们可能会宰杀比这多两到三倍的牲畜。
His company has no record of such big reductions in herds in one year going back to 1970.
自1970年以来，他的公司还没有在一年内牲畜数量大幅减少的记录。
Cattle live throughout the U.S. so not all herds are affected.
牛生活在美国各地，所以并不是所有的牛群都受到影响。
But research from U.S. Drought Monitor shows that ranchers in some areas are going to reduce the size of their herds by more than usual this year.
但是，美国干旱监测机构的调查显示，今年一些地区的牧场主将比往年缩小更多的牛群规模。
Pat Boone raises cattle in New Mexico.
帕特·布恩在新墨西哥州养牛。
He said he reduced his herd by about half this year.
他说，今年他减少了大约一半的牛群。
"Our land is hurt, and it's hurt badly," he said.
他说：“我们的土地受到了伤害，而且伤得很严重”。
It will take time for him to buy and raise more cattle.
他需要时间来购买和饲养更多的牛。
"We're not going to be in any hurry," he added.
他补充说：“我们不会着急”。
Mike von Massow studies agricultural economics in Ontario.
迈克·冯·马索在安大略省研究农业经济学。
He said reducing the number of cows today affects the supply of cattle for many years.
他说，现在减少母牛的数量会影响多年的牛的供应。
"You have this hangover," he said.
他说：“会有遗留影响”。
Riding, the rancher in Manitoba, said even if the weather gets better soon and the fields turn green again, it will take several years for young cows to start having babies.
曼尼托巴省的牧场主里丁说，即使天气很快变好，土地再次变绿，小母牛也需要几年时间才能开始生小牛。
And if the ranchers have trouble, people in the U.S. will pay more for beef.
如果牧场主遇到麻烦，美国人会花更多的钱买牛肉。
Von Massow said in Canada, after a 2014 drought, meat prices rose by 25 percent and stayed high for another two years.
冯·马索说，在加拿大，2014年的干旱之后，肉类价格上涨了25%，并在接下来的两年居高不下。
Fernando Cadena is head of Mexican ranching company Carnes Ribe, based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
费尔南多·卡德纳是墨西哥奇瓦瓦州Carnes Ribe牧场公司的负责人。
He said farmers must wait for the fields to get healthy again.
他说，农民必须等待土地恢复健康。
"For months, it just didn't rain," he said.
他说：“好几个月都没下雨”。
Greg Schmidt is chair of a group of businesses in Alberta, Canada, that feed cows right before they are killed for food.
格雷格·施密特是加拿大阿尔伯塔省一家企业集团的董事长，该集团在母牛被宰杀为食物之前给它们喂食。
He said all parts of the cattle business will have problems.
他说，养牛业的所有部门都将面临问题。
"This is going to ripple through our industry for years," Schmidt said.
施密特说：“这将在未来几年波及我们的行业。”
Steve Arnold is a rancher in California.
史蒂夫·阿诺德是加利福尼亚州的一位牧场主。
His land is about 300 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles.
他的土地在洛杉矶西北约300公里处。
He said there has been less rain than usual for 12 of the last 15 years.
他说，在过去的15年里，有12年的降水量比往常少。
But this year is the worst.
但今年是最糟糕的一年。
"We've had dry stuff but not like this," he said.
他说：“我们经历过旱灾，但没有像这样严重的”。
I'm Dan Friedell.
我是丹·弗里德尔。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
