Cattle slaughter in Uruguay, a key producer that’s become known for its traceable grass-fed, hormone-free beef, could fall to the lowest in 17 years amid a shrinking herd and a drop in exports. That’s according to Eduardo Urgal, director at Ontilcor SA, the country’s No 6 meatpacking plant by slaughter. Meat plants are suffering a shortfall of cattle as government data shows that ranchers shipped more than 500,000 animals to Middle Eastern abattoirs in recent years, he said. The herd has also…