The clock chimes half past five as a man pours a steaming cup of coffee, the lowing of the cattle outside permeating through the farmer feeder’s kitchen window. He moves to the living room with his wife. She adjusts the volume as the weather channel provides coverage for their area. 

Like many cattle producers, this team feels the pressure of drought. High temperatures and low precipitation have become an all too familiar burden. They wake every morning with the same question: How will we grow crops to feed our cattle with another year of no precipitation, high heat and little to no relief?

Mitch Stephensen, Nebraska Extension range and forage management specialist, urged producers to mull on the thoughts of E.J. Dyksterhuis, Social Conservation Service regional range conservationist during a Nebraska Extension addressing ongoing drought conditions. 

Published in the 1951 article titled “Use of Ecology on Range Land,” the early range scientist said, “The man with the bare-looking range needs a rain the most, but when the rain comes, he will get less benefit from it than the man whose range is covered with forage.”

For cattle producers, meeting the nutritional needs of the cattle must be a priority, said Karla Wilke, Nebraska Extension cow-calf stocker cattle management specialist. But there’s a veil of complexity when forage or feed resources are no longer ample.

I do think we are still looking at potential for some warmer temperatures persisting through the late summer and early fall. Again, that would keep with recent tradition of staying pretty warm into September.” — Eric Hunt, Nebraska Extension agricultural meteorology and climate resilience educator

In a multi-year drought event, forage supply is certainly impacted. Stephensen said grazing intensity and precipitation contribute to the available range land forage supply.

“Our warm season grasses are going to rely on that current year summer conditions, and that’s really how they function. But our cool season grasses have more of an effect of the previous year,” Stephensen said. “If we have dry conditions in this year, next year we’ll typically see a little bit more forb production. And then when you add all these together for plant production, it makes it pretty complex because there tends to be winners and losers depending on when that precipitation falls.” 

Mixing winter and non-winter hardy cool season species is one option for producers to consider, said Jerry Volesky, Nebraska Extension range and forage specialist. Doing so can stagger forage availability throughout different times of year.

“Basically it’s one planting operation but kind of doubling where you might have some grazeable forage,” he said. 

Not all outfits are the same, though, and supplementation strategies will look different depending on your operation. Wilke said there are options to consider, whether you run cattle on range land or in confinement.

Regardless of your strategy, Wilke said cow calf producers should weigh three chief factors: energy demands of lactation, body condition status for rebreeding, and dry matter intake of the calf.

Wilke advised producers with pairs turned out on pasture to question if the nutritional needs of both the cow and calf are being met. While the calf is dependent on the cow, as the calf ages, it begins to consume forage and feed as a regular part of its diet. As such, the nutritional needs of the calves should be considered when developing a nutrition strategy for pairs, Wilke said.

“If we are going to not go out to pasture and they’re not going to have any chance to make up any condition they might lose between calving and going to grass, then we have got to meet those needs nutritionally,” she explained. 

Sacrifice pastures can be used as feeding grounds, Wilke said. And in confinement, mixer wagons are not the only option to provide adequate nutrition. 

Creativity can come into play. Regardless of if you are feeding in range land or confinement, Wilke said to consider appropriate feeding space. She said producers should designate 2 feet (ft.) per cow and 1 ft. per calf in the feeding area.

If nutritional needs are not met, then loss of fat deposition reduces the animal’s body condition score. Producers should keep females in a moderate body condition score to enhance rebreeding rates. If the cost of supplemental nutrition is a limiting factor, Wilke urged producers to evaluate the cost of feed against the value of the pair, especially given today’s market.

Laura Baker, Farm Service Agency (FSA) executive director for Kimball County, Neb., said the FSA has a variety of disaster relief programs available for producers experiencing drought.

“While many key FSA drought disaster programs trigger off of the U.S. Drought monitor, FSA Emergency loans actually trigger off of disaster designations,” Baker said. “These designations may also come into play for folks selling livestock due to drought and looking at the tax implications of those sales.”

Baker encouraged producers to contact their local FSA office to learn about available programs to mitigate the financial stresses associated with drought.

“Drought is just an inevitable part of our climate,” Stephensen said. “How we manage becomes really important.”