Managing Drought Conditions

Colorado

• The Colorado Meteorological Network.
  The Colorado Agricultural Meteorological Network (CoAgMet) is a network of automatic weather stations distributed across the state.
• Early warning for stocking decisions in Eastern Colorado.
  How long-term forecasts can help with stocking decisions
• Watering a home landscape during drought.
  Water is a scarce and limited resource in Colorado, and landscapes are expensive and time consuming to replace; therefore, it is critical to prepare for and practice water saving measures to maintain new and existing landscapes during drought.
• Fall and winter watering.
  Often there is little or no snow cover to provide soil moisture from October through March. Trees, shrubs, perennials and lawns under these conditions may be damaged if they do not receive supplemental water.
• Crop Water Use and Growth Stages.
  Irrigation scheduling to prevent plant stress during critical growth stages.
• Determining irrigation run times with drip tape on specialty crops.
  Applying irrigation water at the right time and in the right amount for optimal plant health is one important factor for consistently high yields.
• Effects of weather on irrigation requirements.
  The amount and timing of precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) demand are the two main weather-related variables that determine irrigation requirements.
• Water balance approach to irrigation scheduling.
  The water requirement of a crop must be satisfied to achieve potential yields.
• Limited irrigation management.
  Principles and Practices
• Dryland cropping systems.
  The Wheat-Fallow (WF) system, practiced for many years in the semiarid Western Great Plains, was a definite improvement over continuous cropping.
• Alternative feeds for cattle during drought.
  In the face of drought, producers may sell livestock to decrease herd size and grazing pressure, but alternative feeding strategies are an option for the remaining population.
• Caring for livestock during a disaster.
  How to handle a larger share of emergencies that are often encountered in rural areas.
• Sheep feeds and management guidelines during drought.
  Extended periods of dry weather or drought generally shorten the season sheep can graze on available forage.
• Stretching your horse’s hay during drought.
  Often, horse owners are forced to find alternative feed sources to either stretch their limited hay supply, or completely replace it.
• Dryland pasture condition assessment and guidelines for Colorado small acreages. (PDF)
  Helps pasture managers assess pasture condition and offer sugges- tions for improvements.
• Managing small acreage pastures during and after drought.
  The semi-arid climate of Colorado prevents dryland pastures from achieving the same level of productivity observed in states that receive greater precipitation.
• Addressing the impacts of wildfire on water resources.
  Following a wildfire, the primary source of contamination to drinking water is from chemicals and microorganisms that can enter a fire-damaged well system.
• Fire-resistant landscaping.
  How to correctly landscape their property to reduce wildfire hazards.
• Wildfire preparedness for horse owners.
  Key Elements of a Preparedness Plan

New Mexico State University

• Managing Alfalfa During Drought
  Learn how to preserve the health of the stand during a drought so as to optimize growth once irrigation can be resumed.
• Sheep Breeds Best Suited for Arid Climates.
  Information on breeds of sheep that can be used successfully in the Southwest.
• Helpful Tool for Livestock Management Decisions
  Tables designed to aid livestock owners in keeping more complete and useful date records for a herd.
• Defining Drought on New Mexico Rangelands
  Drought and its influence on the availability of rangeland forage and water have shaped the livestock industry in the Southwest since the late 1500s. It has shaped how New Mexicans rely on the land and what they produce from it.
• Is There Enough Grass? Balancing Forage Supply and Demand
  Offers livestock producers a simple, fast approach to check forage supply relative to current livestock grazing pressure.
• Brush and Weed Control on New Mexico Ranges
  Noxious woody and weedy plants occupy much of New Mexico’s ranges. One cause is preferential grazing by domestic livestock and wildlife. The more palatable species of plants are grazed and weakened, and the ungrazed plants that are left gain an advantage.
• Management of Rangelands and Cattle in Drought-Prone Areas of the Southwest
  This publication focuses on developing a better understanding of the impacts of drought on native rangelands and cattle performance, and how to manage rangelands and cattle during and between droughts in arid regions.
• Chemical Weed and Brush Control for New Mexico Rangelands
  In this article you will learn how to properly make use of herbicides. Misuse can result in poor woody and herbaceous weed control, increased expense, and possible hazards from herbicidal drift or residues that damage or kill desirable plants
• Beef Cow Efficiency in the Southwest
  This guide will address the relationship between these factors and beef production efficiency in the Southwest.
• Early Weaning Beef Calves
  This paper will outline how early weaning can be used as a tool to help maintain reproductive performance and manage grazing pressure.
• Protein and Energy Supplementation to Beef Cows Grazing New Mexico Rangelands (PDF)
  Clarify the relationship between protein and energy use by cattle, and to address protein and energy supplementation for grazing beef cattle.
• Beef Cattle Supplement Delivery Systems
  Describes some of the supplement delivery methods available to livestock producers and discusses their advantages and disadvantages.
• Managing and Feeding Beef Cows Using Body Condition Scores
  This publication describes the BCS system, and the influence of energy reserves on reproductive performance, calf vigor, and health. Monitoring the body condition of a cow herd can improve the efficiency of overall management strategies.
• Using a Supplementation Program as a Grazing Management Tool
  Evaluation of how, when, where, and what type of supplements to deliver to cattle can provide lower-cost opportunities to change grazing behaviors, subsequently producing more grazing days and reducing overuse of conveniently located grazing areas within a pasture.

Oklahoma Resources

• Drought and its impact on agricultural water resources in Oklahoma.
  Drought is different from other natural hazards such as flood or wildfire, where the negative impacts are felt very quickly. Drought follows a slow and accumulating process, and it is difficult to determine the beginning and end of this process.
• Weather and climate national weather service forecasts: Serving agriculture.
  Focuses on forecasts produced by the NWS that can be used in agricultural decision making.
• Tracking drought using soil moisture information.
  How to interpret soil moisture data regarding water availability in the root zone.
• Drought management strategies.
  Drought management strategies may be divided into several categories, but the key point to remember is that drought management is not business as usual.
• The Livestock Forage Program (LFP) disaster assistance.
  The program partially offsets the impact of drought-related damage to native or improved pastureland.
• Management of cows with limited forage availability.
  One of the first management tools that should be evaluated for cow/calf producers is to cull poorer producing cows.
• The use of early weaning in practical cattle management.
  Early weaning has been shown to be a possible solution for the short-term forage and reproduction during emergency situations.
• Early weaning for the beef herd.
  Early weaning has been shown to be a possible solution for the short-term forage and reproduction during emergency situations.
• Limit feeding concentrate diets to beef cows as an alternative to feeding hay.
  Focus on limit feeding beef cows and is intended to provide a few management tips to help producers evaluate the opportunity to utilize this technique.
• Limit feeding light-weight cattle high nutrient density diets.
  This amount varies with cattle weight, the energy values of the ration, and the desired rate of gain.
• Wildfires in Oklahoma.
  basic guidelines can be established for fire management professionals to determine wildfire danger, as well as guide state and local officials in the implementation of burn bans.
• Wildfire: Preparing the ranch and farm.
  With just a small amount of preparation work and annual maintenance, property can be made safer and better able to withstand wildfire.

Texas A&M Resources

• Increasing bare ground indicates poor watershed health.
  Rangeland Watershed Management for Texans: Increasing Bare Ground Indicates Poor Watershed Health
• Range condition: Key to sustained ranch productivity. (PDF)
  
• Rangeland Watershed Management for Texans: Are Your Pastures Healthy?
  Are your pastures healthy?
• Obtaining and Using USDA Market and Production Reports
  Information on forecasts and reports. This publication also subtly highlights the importance of citizen data inputs.
• How USDA Forecasts Production and Supply/Demand
  Vague mentions of how “weather” can affect crop forecasts and progress reports.
• Protect your water well during drought.
  During severe droughts, people rely heavily on groundwater—the water held underground in aquifers.
• Livestock Management
  Rangeland drought management for livestock.
• Keeping cattle hydrated and healthy during a drought.
  Drought conditions can create two deadly dangers for your herd: water deprivation and water (salt) intoxication. Poor water quality will worsen these conditions.
• Balancing forage demand with forage supply.
  To achieve this balance, ranchers need more information on current forage conditions.
• Matching cattle production cycle to forage availability on the High Plains.
  Examines how to match the quantity and quality of forage to varying livestock demands during a normal year and discusses how to provide some flexibility in the face of unpredictable conditions.
• Rangeland drought management – supplemental feeding.
  When forage quality and/or quantity is affected by drought, livestock producers are usually faced with decisions about supplemental feeding.
• Retained Ownership Strategies for Cattlemen
  Spreading risk between production activities or from one period of time to another through retained ownership strategies.
• Livestock Risk Protection
  Basics of livestock risk protection. Drought conditions may result in landowners selling cattle early and voiding the contract.
• MANAGERS BULLETIN: MGR–21-008: USDA issued bulletin Suspension of Livestock Risk Protection Basic Provisions 60 Day Ownership Requirement Due to Severe Drought
  In response to the drought conditions in 2021, the USDA issued a bulletin allowing insurance providers to waive the 60 day requirement at their discretion.
• Economic Tools to Evaluate Culling Decisions for Breeding Cattle and Replacements
  Example of how a producer can use an economic model to evaluate alternatives when faced with selling decisions in response to drought.
• Common grazing management mistakes.
  Annual stocking rate decisions are made before the year’s forage production can be known.
• Rangeland drought management – stocking rate and grazing.
  When dealing with drought, some of a livestock producer’s most important decisions concern stocking rates and grazing management.
• Rangeland health and sustainability.
  The health of Texas rangelands is important to every citizen of the state.
• Improving rainfall effectiveness on rangeland.
  Technology cannot predictably manipulate the weather. However, management tools are available to improve the effectiveness of any rainfall received.
• Manure harvesting frequency: The Key to Feedyard Dust Control in a Summer Drought
  Such concentrations of dust may be a risk to the respiratory health of cattle and may be a nuisance for neighbors. Frequent manure harvesting can be part of a drought-management scheme to conserve water and control dust.
• Irrigation timing during drought.
  Guidelines that can help you plan irrigations to minimize yield reductions in corn, cotton, and sorghum.
• Emergency alternate crops for South Texas.
  Maintaining a damaged stand could result in accepting further plant population losses, worsening weed problems, and risking reduced yields.
• Alternate source of water – graywater. (PDF)
  using graywater resources simply and legally, at the same time protecting your family’s health, your neighborhood and the environment.
• Graywater safety. (PDF)
  Homeowners who irrigate their lawns with graywater need to understand the risks and safety issues associated with such use.
• Rangeland drought management – toxic range plants.
  Toxic plants can pose a major threat to livestock during a drought. Animals consume more of these plants during drought because fewer alternative range plants are available.

Subcategory for wildfires, since drought conditions can greatly increase the risk of wildfires.

• Texas wildfires in 2017.
  Burn Severity Maps for the 2017 Panhandle Fires
• Safeguarding against wildfires.
  When dry conditions and high winds follow periods of rain that grow dense grass, wildfires can ignite easily and spread rapidly. Under such conditions, fires can carry for long distances, cause extensive property damage and even result in loss of life
• Wildfire behavior and emergency response.
  Given the likelihood of wildfires throughout Texas, landowners need to be aware of the threats they pose. When wildfire occurs, preparation and timely action can determine how well you and your property fare.
• Understanding wildfire response.
  To properly coordinate a multi-jurisdictional response, it is critical that all participants use a standard terminology and have a common understanding of how operations will be conducted.
• Wildfire impacts on surface water.
  Wildfire effects on water quality can be physical, chemical, biological, or some combination of these.
• Wildfire ready checklist.
  Preparing for wildfire response ahead of time is one of the most important steps a landowner can take.