Drought will happen. It’s not a matter of if, but when. In this episode, Kit and PJ break down practical drought management concepts built from decades of ranching experience: knowing when to quit, why you shouldn’t feed cows through a drought, how to identify the bottom 20-50% of your herd to cull first, and why early weaning is often the most powerful (and underused) tool available. They also dig into relocating cattle during drought and why the right kind of cow, not a high-maintenance one, is what actually survives tough conditions. The conversation wraps with an honest look at the mental toll drought takes on producers, and why being proactive beats being reactive every time.
If you ranch in a drought-prone area, this episode is about having a plan before you need one.
On our smaller acreage ranches with under 100 head in the South, we can use Serengeti or High Density Zero Rotation Grazing to retain our best animals and keep them gaining weight during drought. I had 25 head on 1 acre for 190 days. During this time my young bull gained 600 pounds. And the remaining 200 acres of the ranch had no grazing animals from April to October of 2012. You can read about these two types of grazing in past publications of the Stockman GrassFarmer magazine.
It helps to know i am not alone in this way of thinking
From Argentina I learn so much watching you all. Thank you.