Ranch forage supplies must be constantly evaluated to match supply with demand. There's an old saying that goes: "Your income has to exceed your outgo lest your upkeep be your downfall." While primarily talking about financial situations, this can be applied to forage situations. Forage supply must meet or exceed forage demand or the forage base may eventually contribute to the demise of the operation. Reduction in stocking rates during drought pays big dividends in terms of less damage to desirable forage plants, rapid recovery of the range following drought, reduced supplemental feeding costs, and reduced losses to toxic plants, just to name a few.

When talking about reduction in stocking rate, herd mix may be the most important factor. Flexibility must be built into the herd. In general, breeding herds should constitute no more than 60% of the total carrying capacity of the ranch during normal years, with the remainder of the herd composed of held-over yearlings or stocker type animals. When drought conditions occur and forage supplies are limiting, livestock numbers can be reduced by selling the stockers or yearlings first without destroying the integrity of the breeding herd.

When drought becomes even more severe and breeding animals must be reduced, accurate herd performance records become extremely important. These should be maintained such that when reducing the breeding herd becomes necessary, the least productive animals can be identified and culled first. Another alternative is to find alternative feed sources such as wheat pasture, crop aftermath, or perhaps in the near future, expired CRP acreage.

Rotational grazing systems may provide alternative options during drought situations. Most grazing systems are designed to give plants rest from grazing. Because plants are under stress during drought, they need a longer period of rest to recover from grazing. Rotational grazing or adjustments in rotational grazing plans may give adequate rest to plants. In a rotation system, pasture numbers may be increased within the system or the length of stay in a single pasture increased to facilitate longer periods of rest. Even with the most sophisticated system, reductions in the number of grazing animals may be necessary to prevent over grazing during severe drought.

In a continuous grazing system, extra attention should be given to livestock distribution. Uniform use of the entire pasture may aid in increased rest of desired forage plants. Strategic placement of salt, supplement and mineral, and temporary watering facilities or fencing help "pull" animals into areas that are typically not grazed, thus allowing rest for heavy use areas.

It is important to remember that during drought, plants may go dormant before the end of the growing season. Thus, plants enter a longer than normal dormant period and become dependent on food stored in the roots earlier in the year. This makes it even more important for green leaf material to remain long enough to produce and store adequate food reserves. This becomes more pronounced as the length of drought is extended.

Stocking rate and grazing management decisions made during drought not only affect current conditions, but also the rate of recovery of rangeland plants following drought and, perhaps, whether or not you will remain in business in years to come.