Stolen fomr Drovers:
Got water?
By Kim Watson (Wednesday, May 10, 2006)
For many cattle producers, the answer is "not enough" — not enough rain to green up pastures or even enough water to fill ponds or water tanks. This spring just seems to be another long dry spell for many.
According to climatologists, the southern plains region is in the middle of a long-term 25-year drought cycle. That means dry conditions remain the norm rather than the exception. And those long, dry weeks and months can spell disaster for some pastures trying to carry a cow herd or stockers if not properly managed.
That impact is compounded as dry spells extend over grazing seasons.
"Unless your production system is irrigated, drought will always be part of the risk associated with forage production and livestock production," says Larry Redmon, Texas Cooperative Extension forage specialist. Given that some producers are experiencing drought now, chances are that will continue to be the trend over the next year or so.
Don't overextend
During drought, the importance of carrying capacity is amplified. This is where knowing your average forage production over a number of years can help determine how many animals your land will support, then adjust that to account for dry years.
Once you know the carrying capacity of the pasture during an average year, adjust that number to between 75 percent and 85 percent to give you some drought protection. That means during good years that other 15 to 25 percent of forage can be used to run stockers or retain calves, because they're on the pasture short term, or to cut for hay.
By keeping that carrying capacity to around 80 percent, says Matt Mattox, Noble Foundation pasture and range consultant, you can possibly get another two months of grazing during dry times compared to running at 100 percent capacity. That may slow down the culling process to avoid a regional rush of cows to the sale barn. Or it may even buy enough time for some decent rainfall to rejuvenate pasture and prevent heavy culling.
"That recommendation has been around for a long time, but during good precipitation years, producers tend to get a little greedy and max out carrying capacity," Mattox says. "By sticking to that 80 percent, you are prepared for drought. Then in wet years, you can use that extra to run stockers or cut hay."
Watch where you cut back
During drought, it's easy to get into cost-cutting mode, just be careful about what you cut back on. For instance, you may think it's a good idea to skip fertilization and weed control on non-native pastures. Or you may rather take the "wait and see" approach to see if the weather pattern changes before putting down fertilizer. But that's not a good strategy.
"With fertilizer cost rising, the first inclination for many producers is to withhold fertilizer during drought times. This is seldom a wise strategy," Redmon says. "A well-balanced fertility program actually helps plants survive drought better than those not fertilized or poorly fertilized. Good fertility enables drought-stressed plants to recover more quickly after the drought ends."
He says that nitrogen is the most limiting factor to plant protection, behind moisture. But phosphorus is also critical for root development and overall plant vigor, and potassium is important for plant production and water-use relations. "Plants that receive adequate potassium can tolerate drought better than plants that do not," Redmon says.
You can still apply fertilizer without significant precipitation because the fertilizer will sit in the upper soil profile, except for urea, which can volatilize. The fertilizer in that pasture will sit there so when it does rain, the fertilizer moves into the soil and plants will re-initiate growth, he says.
If you need to cut back on inputs, put those budget dollars to use on your more-productive pastures rather than spreading it among all pastures, Mattox suggests. For instance, fertilizing areas with a steep slope may not be as beneficial as fertilizing flatter areas that are more accessible to cattle.
Keep them moving
Avoid grazing pastures too long. Not just because of overgrazing, but because your cattle might be missing out on better nutrition in the next pasture.
"When you leave cattle in one pasture too long, the pastures ahead of them start to decline in quality and lose some of the nutritional value as you move through the grazing season," Mattox says. Try to move cattle before you think it's time to move. Then the cattle can get to those grasses before the quality declines, allowing them to maintain body condition and possibly withstand drought a bit better.
He recommends that on introduced pastures, like Bermuda grass or anything not native, you rotate when you have 60 to 70 percent of the pasture grazed to pro-per stubble height (Bermuda would be 4 inches). "This allows for pastures ahead to still be in good quality when the cattle turn out on them and can result in better animal performance."
Dealing with drought
Always anticipate drought; no one is immune.
Be careful of trying to feed your way out of a drought. Put pencil to paper to see if you're better off feeding or selling off cows.
Stock pastures for 75 percent utilization of forages based on long-term records.
Well-fertilized forages tolerate drought better than poorly fertilized forages.
Well-fertilized forages recover from drought more rapidly than under-fertilized forages.
Better to have fertilizer in the field waiting for precipitation than to withhold fertilizer until times get better.
Don't be afraid to sell cows and cull deeply before drought becomes too severe.
Source: Larry Redmon, Texas Cooperative Extension forage specialist
Be careful of water quality
During hot, dry years, cattle suffer not only from lack of forage, but also from lack of quality water. Joe Paschal, extension livestock specialist in Corpus Christi, says that many of the water tanks and ponds on his own and neighboring ranches have dried up. He's relying on the wells and windmills to supply water to cattle.
"Water quality was an issue before supply was," he says. "Most ground tanks filled from rainfall runoff, and whatever was on the ground ran into the tank. As long as there was grass, much of the organic material and most of the mineral matter was collected by the grassland before it entered the tank.
Without the grass, there isn't a good filter, so more organic material and minerals run into those tanks. As those tanks and ponds are depleted, the concentration of the mineral and organic content makes water quality a real issue. It might be a good idea to test water sources once rains replenish tanks and ponds.
Helpful online calculators:
The Noble Foundation
http://www.noble.org
Click on "agricultural tools" at the bottom of the page. Once there, you'll find a number of calculators. The ones that deal with forage management and grazing include:
Carrying Capacity: This calculator will allow you to estimate the proper carrying capacity for a desired period of grazing.
Grazing Cycle: This calculator will allow you to estimate the number of days to graze a pasture for a desired grazing cycle.
Reserve Herd Day: This calculator will allow you to estimate the days available for grazing in a pasture.
Last summer we were able to buy hay from another farmer to feed our cows, but now the hay supply in the Arklatex is exhausted because everyone used their surplus hay last summer and last winter when the ryegrass didn't come up . What other roughages are there besides hay that one could buy to get your herd through a drought? I've heard about cotton gin trash, does anybody use that? We're going to cull our older cows that didn't calve so that will lighten our stocking rate a bit, but another month without rain and we will be in a dire situation. 
