The Western Plains, the South and the Intermountain West are experiencing significant drought right now. Drought can be costly and troublesome when you are trying to build a beef business. In Nebraska, not only are they dry, but they recently lost nearly a million acres of grassland, displacing thousands of cows. Western Colorado and Utah received very little snow, so irrigation water has been reduced and will probably run dry before the season is over. Although mountain grass, surprisingly, looks good, stock water is a rare find. In the high country, streams are drying up and most ponds are empty.

It’s hard to find encouragement in a situation like this, but here are some options. Our first response should be to pray. The Bible clearly teaches that God uses troubles to draw us back to Himself. In the Old Testament, the early and latter rains were a blessing promised to those who obey the Lord. God used lack of rain to get His people’s attention more than once, and it may be that God is prompting us to pray.

The first instinct is to feed through the drought hoping it will rain. This is usually the most expensive option because it’s open-ended. I don’t think that will work for me as hay will soon be $300 per ton here.

Secondly, you can look for grazing in another location. Opportunities for additional pasture are gone in our area, but we saw lots of grass in Missouri last week. Transportation costs are high, but if you’re building a herd of low-input females, it may be worth it to relocate them temporarily. Drought turned out to be the silver lining that helped Pharo Cattle Company® expand into other locations.

The most obvious choice, that is usually the last resort, is to de-stock. If you have attended Ranching for Profit, you probably have a drought plan that dictates when and how much to de-stock. The good thing is that cattle are selling for all-time high prices. However, don’t wait until everyone else is selling or the price will suffer. I have heard of ranchers who sell cows to reduce stock density but keep their heifers, allowing them to rebuild with their own genetics.

Simply put, ranching is a life of problem solving and drought is another problem to solve. At least we have options. I’ll see you next time on the Herd Quitter® Minute.