Oklahomans forced by drought to sell livestock get tax break

Oklahoma farmers and ranchers who sold livestock due to the drought have been granted additional time to replace the animals and defer tax on any gains from the forced sales, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.

It's the second straight year that all 77 counties qualified for potential tax breaks due to drought.

Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist, said the current Oklahoma drought, while severe, has not been as protracted as the one that lasted much of 2011.

Oklahoma's stock of beef cows decreased 14.3 percent in 2011, from just more than 2 million to 1.73 million head, Peel said. Based on preliminary numbers, Peel said, he doesn't expect quite as large of a decrease this year.

“My sense is we have not been forced to liquidate anywhere near that level,” he said. “Part of the reason is we didn't have as many animals to begin with, and we were able to start the year with some forage.”