Be Prepared If the Summer Gets Tough

By: Arturo Pacheco, PhD Pacheco Cattle Services

While most producers are in the midst of spring calving, the daily tasks of feeding and checking your calving heifers and cows keep you distracted from looking ahead.

While dry weather isn’t a disadvantage during the calving season, producers should start making plans for how to manage dry conditions if the current weather pattern persists, which could make for a tough summer grazing season. A large portion of cattle country is experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions, and most of the region is actually experiencing a moderate drought with a section of the southern high plains suffering through an extreme drought (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/). We understand the challenges that even a modest drought brings producers, but having a drought management plan in place before the onset of dry conditions can certainly help producers make informed decisions and take predetermined actions to sustain the integrity of their rangelands.

To further highlight the importance of a drought management plan, since the 1700s in the Great Plains alone, there have been over 40 drought periods, with 73 years worth of severe droughts and 38 years of moderate drought. If you are doing the math with me, that means since the 1700s the Great Plains has experienced a drought 1/3 of the time.

Most of us have made a habit of dumping out our rain gauge, but we need to put that information to good use in helping us realize when a drought is encroaching. Monitoring rainfall levels yearlong and comparing yearly totals to regional averages at “trigger dates” is an important step in a successful drought management plan. Producers can use this data to help make minor, systematic stocking rate decisions that impact range integrity for the better.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how we can implement a drought management plan in a regionally specific scenario. This scenario can be adapted to any region’s monsoon and growing season as a template for a drought management plan, but certainly seek out help in completing a comprehensive drought management plan so nothing is overlooked. First off, drought is defined as a prolonged period of low rainfall, specifically if your area receives less than 70 percent of its average rainfall. Further, correlate the rainfall with the growing season of your rangelands rather than the calendar year. Here in the Flint Hills of Kansas that period would begin around April and end sometime in October. Thus, we monitor rainfall from October to October and use the rainfall totals through this period to make decisions on what steps to progress through in our drought management plan.

The first trigger date in our area would be April 1st. If we haven’t received at least 15 percent of our annual average rainfall from November 1st to April 1st, we would take the first action in our drought management plan, to start monitoring range conditions and forgoing the practice of prescribed burning, which is a valuable tool in our neighborhood in maintaining productive rangelands.

The next trigger date in our area would be June 15th. At this point we should have received 50-55 percent of our annual average rainfall. At this date, if rainfall is less than 80 percent of that target of 50-55 percent, we would take the next action in our drought management plan, to decrease stocking rates by at least 30 percent. In a cow-calf operation, this can be done by early weaning. If rainfall totals are even lower, say less than 60 percent of that target of 50-55 percent, stocking rates need to be reduced by 40 percent. This can be managed by early weaning and light culling. At this point, we need to start thinking about preserving cow body condition just as much as we are thinking about preserving range conditions.

As the summer progresses through July and August, the Northern Flint Hills should have received 70 percent of our average annual rainfall. If moisture is less than 70 percent of the average for the year in August, grazing on summer pastures should end on September 1st so we can maintain range integrity. By August 15th, 70 percent of forage production has occurred in the Kansas Flint Hills. It is crucial that we leave enough leaf area on forage between August and the first killing frost so forage can restore root carbohydrate reserves for the winter. At this point, overgrazing would cause a decline in range conditions.

If we are behind on rain by the onset of fall, we can expect that dry conditions will persist into winter and the following spring. In fact, if rainfall totals are less than 80 percent of normal by November 1st, you can expect the drought cycle to continue into the spring. If these conditions exist, you should be prepared to reduce stocking rates further for the upcoming summer grazing season.

If you find yourself in a drought, reducing stocking rate is a must for range integrity to remain satisfactory. When it comes time to cull, most ranchers start with the three

Os: the open, the old and the ornery. Liquidate these cattle sooner than you normally would. Keep in mind if you’re dry then so are your neighbors, so liquidate unwanted inventory before the market is flooded in your area. Think outside of the box; even though you may be experiencing a drought, utilize this misfortune to help you determine what genetics in your herd are the most efficient from a production and reproduction standpoint. This could also be a good time to implement an AI program, which would improve the genetics in your herd but also potentially reduce the number needed in your bull battery.

Another option may be implementing a custom grazing program to utilize as a tool in your drought management plan. This option must be in place prior to the onset of drought. Custom grazing would allow producers to generate revenue on their forage base when adequate moisture is received by taking in cattle to graze. The cattle don’t have to be stockers. If you’re more comfortable with cows, folks are always looking for cow grass. If drought conditions develop, rather than liquidating cattle, you simply don’t custom graze cattle while drought conditions persist. This offers you more flexibility in your forage base. When dry conditions persist, you have extra acreage to move your own herd to when traditional range resources are depleted.

Keep in mind the time to plan for a drought is when you’re stomping mud off your boots, not picking dust out of your ears. Being prepared for a drought allows producers to make flexible and informed decisions based off basic rainfall measurements and have plans in place to help reduce stocking rates and maintain range integrity.