By James Rogers
Several years ago, I wrote a column with the same headline. Weather conditions at that time were ideal, with favorable soil moisture and temperatures. Spring was in the air. Optimism for the coming spring and growing season was high.
This year, my feeling is a little different. While I have been in North Dakota a short time — March 1 marked my four-year anniversary in the state — I know that this winter was unusual. A grower told me shortly after I came to North Dakota that this country needs snow. While parts of the state saw significant snowfall, the winter has been mostly open. I do look forward to spring, warmer temperatures and a new growing season, but I am apprehensive about how good this growing season will be.
North Dakota State University Extension just released an excellent news release written by Miranda Meehan, livestock environmental stewardship specialist, and Kevin Sedivec, rangeland management specialist, on the upcoming grazing and haying season (ndsu.ag/grazingoutlook26). In this release, they provide several scenarios based on moisture received during the fall and spring, as well as the effect of grazing intensity during the fall of 2025 on 2026 forage production.
If we do experience a year with below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures, are you prepared? A large emphasis on the 2026 forage production outlook is placed on fall 2025 grazing management. If there are pasture and range areas that were grazed the previous fall to the point that developing tillers were consumed and limited leaf area remained before frost, these areas should be rested this spring to allow for plant recovery. Being prepared for unfavorable growing conditions is a management strategy for every year.
Texas famously experienced drought conditions from 1949 to 1954. A summary of conditions affecting the recovery, “The Effect of the 1949-1954 Drought on the Ranges of Texas” by Vernon A. Young, was published in 1956. The following is a quote from their summary:
“In general, ranges that were properly managed before and during the drought came through in fair to good condition; overstocked ranges were severely damaged and subsequent recovery has been limited. Thus ranchmen have evidence for the need for carrying out proper management practices year after year, not only to meet drought periods, but to build an economic unit by capitalizing on the years of favorable moisture. Thus the old rule still prevails that close grazing does not pay.”
Source : ndsu.edu