By Tom Polansek

August 7 (Reuters) -Nebraska cattle rancher Craig Uden bought 200 extra mother cows and their babies over a few weeks in May to expand his herd as dry weather gave way to rain that rejuvenated land used for grazing.

In South Dakota, Troy Hadrick kept 16 more young female cows, known as heifers, on his farm than he did last year to be used for breeding, rather than sending them to be slaughtered for beef.

More than 1,400 miles south in Texas, the biggest cattle-producing state, Fausto Salinas was also preserving heifers to increase his herd.

In major U.S. livestock regions, some ranchers have slowly begun taking the first steps to boost cattle production after the nation’s inventory shrank due to a years-long drought that dried up pasture land used for grazing and hiked

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