Drought
Many are asking that during this drought, but if farmers wait to apply fertilizer until it rains, a major part of the benefit will be lost.
As the weeks continue to pass without any significant rain in the Midwest, it is getting increasingly difficult to find feed for livestock.
The assistance uses the Secretary of Agriculture’s existing authority to help create and encourage flexibility within four USDA programs.
Drought drives cattle Inventory down but consumer demand remains high.
Drought always presents a major challenge, but there are ways to get through it and survive another year.
Officially it’s still spring, but the Western half of the U.S. continues to struggle with drier weather, which is spreading into the Plains.
More than 1.113 million cattle were shipped out of Texas last year because of the historic drought.
There are indications that the worst of the 2011 drought-forced movements of cattle may be slowing down.
Lower beef production likely will keep calf prices high through at least 2015.
Eight percent of respondents indicate they will no longer own cattle in 2012, though this is only a temporary measure.
Nebraska Cattlemen is encouraging those with equipment and time to make more hay available, including grass in ditches.
Producers in the Southern Plains have to make some tough decisions during the drought.
Much of the western U.S. is also experiencing drought. But Missouri is the only Midwestern state with such severe conditions with suffering corn crops and hay in short supply for cattle.
Ongoing drought and wildfires have cattle ranchers in at least five Southwestern U.S. states scrambling for hay or pastureland, while others are selling off some of their herds.
Already short on hay and forage after a hard winter, ranchers in North and South Dakota are continuing to reduce herds in response to severe drought conditions.
Producers should be proactive in case drought is a problem this year.
University of Missouri Extension has released a guide for farmers thinking about using a forage irrigation system.
Feeding hay is just one strategy to consider when trying to compensate for drought-stressed pastures.
Improved management adapted to changing rangeland conditions will be a key to surviving three back-to-back years of drought.
Drier weather in the last month has led to slow growth of forages in parts of the Midwest, meaning livestock producers need to double check their forage supplies for the rest of the season now.
The drought has had lasting effects on farmers across the country—cattlemen in particular.
Even after storms dumped many inches of snow in February, water shortages and dirt-dry pastures across the Great Plains are shrinking herds.
Winter wheat could still present good grain opportunities for farmers, experts say, but a lack of moisture has stressed pastures.
Though it’s possible some Texas producers could ship hay north, it might not happen for a number of reasons.
With ramifications of the drought in the Southern Plains still being felt, producers should take precautions for forage production in 2012.
Some fall rains making it appear as though some drought-weakened pasture resources are healthier than they might be.
The changes extend the emergency grazing period and allow feeding of hay from expiring CRP acreage.
With pastureland scorched, feed costs have skyrocketed. The past decade of setbacks has shrunk Canadian herd to 30-year low.