Make a drought plan By Lindsay Allen Cowmen in the southern tier of the country have become all too familiar with drought. With signs pointing towards another dry season coming, many are starting to look at their herd numbers, forage and hay supplies and figure out next steps. Perhaps there is another side to that coin that doesn’t lead producers to summarize that cattle herds should be reduced and sold. Perhaps with adequate preparation and stewardship, cattle herds can remain intact, or only see a few cull cows lost, verses a large number of head. Dr. Jane Parish, research and extension professor at Mississippi State University, said, “I always try to encourage cowman to not just focus on making it through a drought, but focus on where they want that herd to be after the drought. You have to find a balance, because if you sell off a large number of head before or after drought, it will be harder to buy back the quality and genetics you sold off, but at the same time, you can’t stretch yourself too thin just to keep your whole herd intact.” The obvious factor when looking at drought conditions is forage quantity and the ability to properly maintain body condition scores and good herd nutrition. Vincent Deshotel, associate county agent for St. Landry Parish in Ville Platte, Louisiana and regional beef program coordinator for the LSU AgCenter Central Region of Louisiana said, “The overall productivity of a herd can be directly correlated to nutrition. Good nutrition can help solve many problems when we begin talking about disease, parasites, and many other health issues associated with a lack of nutrition and available feedstuffs. Therefore, adequate nutrition is the cornerstone to productivity. In my mind, like most other cow/calf operators, a non-productive animal or loss of productivity in a herd is a loss of profit.” PAGE 24
Spring, 2018 • SIMBRAH World
A soil test is a quick and inexpensive way to examine the forage in your pastures according to Parish, who said that the immediate results provided by the test show a cowman where to put their resources in terms of fertilizer. She continued by stating that establishing a good spring forage, before the drought has time to set in and before the first hay cutting, can help cover any gaps and also help stockpile the pastures for the summer time. “Look at how you have your pastures subdivided. Find ways in which you can rest pastures and move cattle around more frequently. The worst thing is for your pastures to be exposed to drought conditions coupled with constant grazing; your plants then become stressed and in the long run take longer to recover and grow back,” according to Parish. At the Mississippi State University Beef Center, they were able to move cattle around frequently and provide adequate forage in the last dry period. The center was able to decrease the amount of hay fed in the winter prior to the last drought. The cattle also became very gentle after being worked so often Parish noted. When hay is required to be fed during the months of drought, there are ways in which cattlemen can lower costs in this area. “No cowman choses to carry over hay from one year to the next, but when things get lean or when hay meadows are not growing during peak forage growing times of the year due to drought conditions, it is often a huge asset to have carry over hay. Even though there may be a great up-front cost associated with putting up extra hay when it is available, when possible, always have more hay on hand than you feel you may need. This is to help cover your winter feeding needs, as feeding hay during summer periods have