Dealing with drought conditions for grazing cattle on native range and pasture

The southern Panhandle is in the second consecutive spring of drought conditions. Precipitation September 1 to April 15 for the Southern Nebraska Panhandle is less than half of normal for this time period. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension CropWatch website has weather information that shows precipitation summaries for all of Nebraska. This summary shows recent historic precipitation amounts and compares them to long term averages at locations throughout the Panhandle. Lack of precipitation beginning in the fall of 2011 has resulted in severely depleted soil moisture.

Early spring soil moisture is critical in this region for forage production on native range and seeded introduced cool season pastures. A current lack of soil moisture combined with below normal precipitation mean that management changes need to be planned for the upcoming growing and grazing season on native range and pasture. It is important to plan decision point dates and to consider options for reducing cattle grazing when the forage available from native range or pasture will be severely reduced due to drought conditions. The following are options for producers to consider:

1. Delay pasture turnout. Delay pasture turnout at least two to four weeks, to give native grasses the have the opportunity to utilize what moisture is available and develop growth and root reserves which will benefit plant health and total forage production. If we don’t get significant precipitation in the rest of April, May and June to grow grass, delaying grazing till late summer or after killing frost in the fall would be best for rangeland and pasture health.

2. Plant annual forages for summer grazing and or hay. If irrigation is available summer annuals such as Sudan grass, forage sorghums and sorghum-Sudan grass planted in late May and June can provide grazing July through September. Summer annuals such as foxtail millet and teff can be planted as a crop for hay.

3. Examine the cost of feeding cow-calf pairs or replacement heifers a complete ration in a dry-lot. With current feed prices this is expensive, but may be one of the few options available that will allow producers to retain cows.

4. Plan to early wean calves. Depending upon the cow and the stage of milk production, early weaning results in a 25 to 45% reduction in cow nutrition requirements. Calves can be weaned and placed on a high quality diet as early as 60-90 days of age..

5. Reduce numbers by selling yearlings, replacement heifers and cows that have lost calves or are poor producers. Evaluate what you believe to be a core group of cows that you feel would be a critical to take through the drought and allow you to rebuild your herd. All others may need to be marketed to save feed and resources for the core herd.

6. Look for additional grazing sources outside the area. The states east of Nebraska have seen some drought relief and may be willing to take cows in to graze for the summer. Carefully evaluate all the potential costs and risks involved with moving cattle to a different area for grazing. Often time it takes a significant amount of time for cattle to adapt to a new environment. The stress of moving the cattle can result in significant decreases in cattle performance and health.

7. In 2012, Conservation Reserve Program acres (CRP) were released for haying and grazing. It is possible that these might be available for grazing in 2013 as well. Plan ahead and look for opportunities to utilize these acres as a grazing resource. CRP forage is often low in quality so additional protein supplement may be needed for cattle grazing these acres. Water and fence are often not available on CRP so planning how to provide this infrastructure to allow for grazing will be need.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension has specialists and resources available to assist producers in developing a drought plan and analyzing potential options. The following websites have information for ranchers and farmers on dealing with drought.

http://droughtresources.unl.edu/

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

http://beef.unl.edu/

http://cropwatch.unl.edu/

Please contact me if you have questions about management strategies for dealing with drought conditions.

Aaron Berger

UNL Extension

Kimball-Banner and Cheyenne Counties

308.235.3122

[email protected]