Challenges of a Dry Summer

As we make our way into mid summer, it continues to be dry. We’ve only had a few instances of rain in over a month and are considered to be in a moderated drought. Managing animals on pasture in times of drought brings challenges.

We manage our pastures using rotational grazing practices. Using temporary fences, we give the cows a new section of pasture each day. The idea is that the animals will have fresh forage to eat each day. Rotational grazing also allows the pastures a chance to regrow before they are grazed again.

This year we continue to rotationally graze, but the pastures are regrowing at a much slower rate than during typical years. We follow the rule of “take half, leave half,” meaning we move the cows when they have eaten that section down half way. So if a pasture started out with 18 inch tall forages, we move once they’ve eaten it down to approximately 9 inches. The goal is to help the soil maintain it’s moisture and not stress the plants by grazing them too short.

Even with our careful management, we can’t control the weather and the pastures are regrowing slower than typical. Thankfully, we have enough land in hay and pastures that we can continue to rotationally graze as well as make some hay for winter feeding.

We’re hopeful that we will get some rain soon!