Natural Resources: The Ranch Foundation During Drought

 

 

 

Drought is here for many ranchers across South Dakota (Figure 1 & Figure 2). Cattle are heading to salebarns as ranchers are running out of grass and feed or they are shipping cattle to the extreme Southern counties of South Dakota where grass conditions and feed reserves are in better shape. During this stressful time, ranchers are faced with many critical decisions. Do they purchase hay and feed through the drought? Do they reduce stocking rates and sell cow/calf pairs and yearlings? Do they wean calves early? Do they dry lot our breeding animals? Do they supplement the forage available? How are they going to market their animals? All are very important decisions with their own financial implications unique to every ranch and must be carefully evaluated. However, as these questions are addressed, a ranch manager must try to ensure the natural resources of the ranch are also taken care of. 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as every factory needs a sturdy and healthy foundation to be sustainable, a ranch manager must keep a watchful eye on the natural resources of the ranch during drought. The natural resources are the foundation for all other perspectives of a ranch. Other ranch perspectives may include: production, financial, customers, and quality of life. The natural resources to a large extent also set the boundaries for each of the other perspectives on a ranch. The natural resources determine the number of cattle that can be stocked or the number of wildlife that can be sustained, as well as the amount of forage crops or hay that can be produced. Striving to maintain the rangeland resources in the best condition as possible through a drought will be crucial for a fast recovery when conditions improve.

 

Since nearly all the forage growth for this year has occurred, a ranch manager must try to maintain some vegetation cover on the soil surface to help aid in restoring soil moisture as quickly as possible when rain returns. Leaving adequate vegetation cover in the pasture will increase the water holding capacity and infiltration rate into the soil profile and reduce runoff from heavy precipitation events (Figure 3). Consequently, the soil moisture will be restored more quickly versus a pasture grazed to bare ground (Figure 4). Ranch managers should strive for at least 50 to 60% organic material cover on the soil surface and at least 4-6-inch residual stubble height for native grasses.