Where do we sit in the current cattle cycle? Do you have a drought management plan? How do you manage through drought? These questions were addressed at the Society for Range Management’s (SRM) “When in Drought” virtual event.
As part of their Good Grazing Makes Cent$ program, SRM hosted a rancher and panel of experts to assist with drought management and planning and marketing cattle during drought.
ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, opened the session by giving guidance on the market’s short-term and long-term realities and ways to capitalize on the market to gain profits. Right now, Stewart said the biggest headwinds producers have are input prices, corn prices, drought and record on-feed numbers.
Stewart noted that the industry had culled 1.57 million cows to date in 2022—14 percent higher than 2021 and 28 percent above the five-year average.
Stewart said as the markets look into July and beyond to fall and get through the record cattle-on-feed numbers, “There is prosperity; there are better prices to be had with the market, but it’s just juggling what do we do from now until then, and so right now it’s just kind of gritting our teeth.”
Regarding marketing pairs, Stewart said to look at a few things and go where there are green pastures and either pick up a lease that has expired or put them in a feedlot. If you have to market pairs, do not do it in a region with drought, and see if the cost of transportation outweighs the cost to market the pairs. Stewart said if there is any way you can hold onto those pairs by talking to a banker or moving them, the dividends will pay off.
The question was posed to the panel, “Does it make sense to buy $300 hay, or do I just sell cows and calves in the fall and buy back next spring?”
Stewart said the question has been asked of her many times. She pointed to a study done at North Dakota State University for a similar scenario. The study found the “largest negative cash flow impact comes from restocking in the year following the drought,” Stewart said.
Stewart said if prices were as low as in previous years, she would tell you that someone is crazy for buying $300 hay. However, Stewart said feeder prices will get higher, “and it is going to justify (buying) some pretty darn expensive hay.”
Grace Woodmansee, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) livestock and natural resources adviser, spoke about the Drought Decision Support Tool developed as a result of her thesis with fellow adviser Dan Macon. Woodmansee said through her research, she found there was a large increase in the adoption of individual proactive practices or planning in advance of a drought. Woodmansee said the decision tool could provide a good starting point because it can be very overwhelming to parse through all aspects of an operation.
“So that’s kind of the catalyst for why we developed a decision support tool just to help walk people through some questions that they might not have considered or to use as a starting point for conversations between themselves and their families,” Woodmansee said.
The decision tool developed by UCCE offers flexibility in balancing the forage supply and demand equation during a drought. The decision tool looks at the economics to make a fair-minded, unemotional decision, and it also devotes a section to forage planning. The planning calendar allows producers to see where there might be gaps in forage availability early to enable producers to do an economic analysis and be in control of planning decisions.
Woodmansee said in her research she found that 50 percent of ranchers have a written drought plan, and a written plan provides an opportunity to compare to other droughts and make the right economic decisions.
Martin Townsend, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance’s Conservation Committee coordinator, said Montana ranchers are primarily concerned about water availability, the things they can control, and making decisions that will benefit them both this year and next year.
“There’s never been a situation so bad that you can’t do something to make it worse,” Townsend said regarding emotional decisions. “So, trying to remember that anything we do in a drought has consequences and fallout going forward, and I think it’s important to remember instead of just reacting to how bad it is right now.”
Townsend said in a stubble height study that grazing too much grass in years prior led to a delayed growth curve in the third year. So, it is essential to plan for the future during drought. Woodmansee concurred that prioritizing the resilience of your forage resources is important.
“I know that rangelands and ranchers have evolved with drought,” Woodmansee said. “It’s always been a part of the ranching equation. But just the way we see these droughts increasing lately, I think that we have to not just think about surviving the current drought, but recovering as quickly as possible so that we’re not going in short during the next drought.”
Townsend discussed another tool for drought planning, the Rangeland Analysis Platform tool at rangelands.app, which calculates forage growth every 16 days and gives information based on average biomass growth.
Townsend said in parts of Montana, the grass is finished growing and going to seed, and the recent rains kept the quality up but did not increase quantity. Woodmansee said ranchers have been using chronology and indicators such as grasses going to seed as a trigger for drought planning.
Townsend also introduced Dale Veseth, who ranches in southern Phillips County in Montana on approximately 80,000 acres.
“He’s a source on every issue you could have, and his response to that is a detailed and planned out 15-step drought response plan,” Townsend said. “So, I thought that was an interesting response to drought that I wanted to see Dale share with other people, and Dale is a great resource to ask questions to.”
Veseth said one of the first things his grandfather told him was to keep two years of hay and grass because one of those years, you will need it. Veseth said his grandfather had seen hard times through the “dirty ‘30s” with drought and windstorms. The question of “if they would see grass grow again” was his reason to keep two years of forage on hand.
Veseth took his grandfather’s advice when developing his 15-point plan, which is summarized as:
• Drought planning needs to begin before the drought.
• Have a good grazing plan utilizing good range management practices.
• Maintain acres in the Conservation Reserve Program for an income stream and emergency grazing and haying.
• Maintain a yearling enterprise on 15-20 percent of the grazing animal units.
• Maintain a forage insurance policy annually.
• Maintain a rangeland insurance policy annually.
• Water distribution is the biggest problem for grazing management. The Emergency Conservation Program can assist with cost-sharing on wells and other projects.
• Use portable water storage tanks to remotely run off wells or use a solar pump to pump out of a reservoir/pit.
• Test water and feed resources for toxicity and/or nutrient deficiency.
• Take advantage of annuals, biennials and weeds for grazing when palatable.
• Graze hay land, buy winter feed or look for off-ranch wintering opportunities.
• Early weaning can reduce cow requirements by 20 percent.
• Market cull livestock in a timely manner during drought conditions or place them in a feedlot that isn’t experiencing drought conditions.
• Develop a plan for the order of culling cattle.
• Implement efficient management practices, such as optimizing the cost of feed, feed intake, vaccination programs and maternal index.
Veseth said he encourages ranchers with good strategies to come forward and share with others, as peer-to-peer guidance is the best way to get through the drought.
A complete 15-point guide can be found at wlj.net. If you would like to view the presentation, visit the SRM Facebook page. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
1.) Why do I need a drought plan? In the Northern Great Plains, we experience drought conditions approximately 20 percent of the time. Our question should not be “if,” but “when” and “how long and how bad.” Drought planning needs to begin before the drought. Some of the first ranch advice I received from my grandfather was that you should have an extra year’s supply of grass and hay on hand because some years, you wouldn’t grow any. Thinking back to that advice, I realize that was my granddad’s drought plan.
2.) Have a good grazing plan utilizing good range management practices: Use time control grazing during plant growth with a maximum of 10 days per pasture or less to reduce regrazing. Take 1/2 animal unit months (AUMs) and grazing days during the growing season and 1/2 during the dormant growth season. Graze all pastures using the above grazing method twice—stock at NRCS and BLM stocking rates. Use the largest herds possible to reduce the length of grazing duration of a given pasture, increase animal impact and lengthen recovery periods. Rotate season of use within the grazing scheme. Defer grazing in riparian areas during the summer. Winter graze to improve range trend; monitor range trend to evaluate management plan and practices as a feedback loop to management changes. Seek professional assistance through Extension, agencies, conservation organizations and/or private consultants. Keep good historical records of grazing history, precipitation and conditions.
3.) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): Maintain acres in CRP for income stream and emergency grazing and haying. V&V (Veseth’s operation) currently has four contracts that total 600 AUMs in four separate pastures that can be grazed every second year for the maintenance of the contract. Two CRP pastures one year and two the next. The ranch usually grazes CRP for maintenance in the spring. The cows seem to eat through the old growth to get the green underneath better at this time. We usually put calving cows on CRP for good calf protection. We are also resting our other range during this crucial growth period. The ranch tries to graze CRP at home and leases outside contracts for hay for simplicity.
4) The ranch maintains a yearling enterprise on 15 to 20 percent of the grazing animal units. In a destocking situation, these cattle would be the first sold and never put on grass. I would recommend keeping or buying light calves. Heifers receive smaller discounts as they grow. It is 10-20 cents at weaning @ 500 lbs.; it is 3-4 cents @ 850 lbs. Spay heifers can be run with the cow herd with no performance problems.
5) Maintain a forage insurance policy annually. The cost to the ranch is $4,500/year and is a business deduction. Most years, you never see this money again. The government subsidizes these policies to pay out more than is paid in. Theoretically, you should get your premium+ in the drought disaster year.
6.) Maintain a rangeland insurance policy annually. This costs the ranch about $10,000/year. We sign up for the spring months, which account for 1/2 of our annual average precipitation.
7.) Water distribution is the biggest problem to grazing management in the semiarid regions of the world. Cattle don’t like to travel farther than 1 mile from the water source: 1/2 mile in rough country. Drought only complicates this problem. Wells on the ranch are 800-1,000 feet deep and cost $25,000-30,0000 per well. The pipeline cost is $2 per foot. With drought designation, Emergency Conservation Program is a 50 percent cost-share program. One of the problems we have had is that vendors are so busy you still might be a couple of years to a completed project. During drought on the ranch, we try to contract with a track hoe to clean silted pits. Our average cost per pit for this procedure is currently $1,800. New pits are built at $3,000.
8.) The ranch has a couple of portable water storage tanks (10,000- and 2,500-gallon units) to remotely run off wells or use a solar pump to pump out of a reservoir/pit. We use an electric fence for low water sources so the cattle won’t muck them up, and this will keep the water source in better condition for a longer period of time. Herding, lick tubs and minerals help pull cattle to poor distribution areas.
9.) Test water and feed resources for toxicity and/or deficiency. Drought will stress annual forages and cause high nitrates. Maturity of the crop usually reduces the level of nitrates. Stagnant, low water should be tested for total dissolved solids (TDS). High TDS can cause brain polio and other health issues. It is advisable to supplement high thiamine in minerals and feed.
10.) Take advantage of annuals, biennials and weeds for grazing when palatable. Flash graze cheatgrass when cattle select for it before heading. Graze crested wheatgrass in native pasture early when cattle select for it. In sweet clover years, graze until the yellow is gone and move on. If you can’t graze weeds around the corral or on meadows before maturity, swath graze while green and before seed set, then windrow graze later. Domestic pasture is known to withstand more severe utilization than the native range.
11.) Graze hay land and buy winter feed or look for off-ranch wintering opportunities—take cattle to the feed. Do not hay tonnage less than 0.75 tons/acre. An estimation grazing our hay meadows should produce 750 AUMs in the grazing season.
12.) Early weaning can reduce cow requirements by 20 percent. Feeding the calf directly will give you more efficient gains.
13.) Market cull livestock in a timely manner during drought conditions or place at a feedlot that isn’t experiencing drought conditions.
14.) Culling strategy to maintain productive cow herd:
•Cull all nonproductive animals first—yearling heifers usually make up approximately 20 percent of most ranch AUMs.
•Cull all old cows/pairs.
•Cull all old bulls.
•Cull poor-functioning and/or performance cattle, i.e., feet/legs/udders/disposition.
15.) Implement best management practices for efficiency:
•Test and formulate feed rations and mineral packages to optimize the cost of production.
•Implement a vaccination program to address cattle death loss and morbidity to optimize the cost of production.
•Crossbreeding with five or more breed composites to maintain maximum heterosis and complementarity will raise production per unit by 35-40 percent.
•Select for cattle with good residual feed intake (less lbs. of feed/lb. of gain).
•Select for cattle with an excellent maternal index if retaining replacements.
•Select for cattle with an excellent terminal index if marketing all progenies.
•Utilize ionophores to reduce death loss, reduce disease, reduce intestinal disorders, increase feed efficiency, increase average daily gains, reduce the age of puberty and reduce methane production unless compensated for all the above cost and opportunity of that value.
