The lack of spring rain, combined with little moisture since last fall, has many cattle producers worried about their pastures' ability to support even an average size herd, said Jerry Volesky, range specialist at UNL's West Central Research and Extension Center at North Platte.
While conditions seem to be fairly dry across the state, pastures in the western portion have shown the greatest amount of drought stress, Volesky said.
"Since September at North Platte, we've only received 51% of the average precipitation," Volesky said. "Precipitation in April and May only reached 35%."
"We haven't seen a spring this dry in a lot of years," he added.
Conditions aren't likely to improve, Volesky said. If low precipitation levels continue through the remainder of June and into summer, there won't be a lot producers can do to correct the situation. Instead, they are going to have to make changes within their herd, he said.
"Producers will have to stock cattle to match the amount of grass growth," Volesky said. "It can be hard to do because producers often are used to grazing one way year after year. When the grass isn't there, the pressure is on to do things differently."
Cool season grasses already are showing signs of drought stress, Volesky said. This year cool season grass has reached an average height of five inches -- about 10 inches below normal. Warm season grasses are likely to show minimum growth as well, he said.
"In early June a person should be able to look across a pasture and see a span of green," Volesky said. "This year it's just not there. A lot of last year's old growth is still visible."
Volesky mentioned that drought conditions combined with overstocking can lead to reduced vigor of the grasses for two to three years down the road. Drought conditions also lead plants to mature faster and lose nutritional value earlier in the season. Therefore, producers are looking for ways to reduce herd numbers to compensate for the lack of forage in both quantity and quality, he said.
While alternating pastures more often and weaning calves earlier in the season are two options considered by producers, the greatest benefits come from reducing the number of cattle in an entire herd, Volesky said. Producers should take a good look at their herd early in the season to eliminate cows that aren't necessarily needed in the operation, he said.
"The oldest, least productive cows usually are the first to go," he added.
Along with decreasing the number of cattle in a herd, producers also can benefit from developing a seasonal rotation for grazing pastures, Volesky said. For example, a pasture grazed in June or July one year shouldn't be grazed until September or October of the next year to ensure grass isn't grazed during the critical months of growth year after year, he said.
By deferring grazing at this time, pastures are given a chance to enhance plant vigor and growth, Volesky said. Producers should wait to turn out cattle at least two to six weeks to allow this early growth to establish.
"If grass is given the chance to use available soil moisture early in the season, producers will benefit from increased production later," he said.
Kalee Olson
IANR News Release
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