Extension shares how to handle drought in the cattle industry

As summer approaches so does the heat and many eyes turn to the sky in the hopes of rain. Aaron Berger, beef educator with the Nebraska Extension, tackled what options ranchers have in the face of an encroaching drought.
He began by breaking down the impact the previous year’s lack of moisture has had on area grazing land.
“With the dry conditions we had last summer our range or pasture was already stressed,” he explained. “They are going into the spring with less plants and if you think about plant health, those roots tend to shrink up when we are in dry conditions.”
This will cause plants to have a harder time accessing moisture in the coming year.
He noted that when he thinks about droughts and decision-making that many of the problems people face are challenges they created themselves.
This is due in part to the emotion that goes with droughts and the decisions that many ranchers have to make.

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