• How much rainfall did I receive between Oct. 1 of last year and Oct. 1 of this year?
• Am I in a period of below-average rainfall? “If I plan to incorporate stockers into my cow-calf op-
eration and I’m dry on Oct. 1, then I’m seriously consider- ing reducing the number of stockers for the next year,” Bailey explains. “I could bring two-thirds as many as I would normally or two-thirds of what I think my forage availability would be in a normal year.”
April 1 evaluation April 1 is the next trigger date. Bailey encourages
ranchers to gather precipitation data during the vegeta- tive dormant season. Below-average rainfall during this period is an indication that drought may be coming. The ideal response is to reduce the number of fl exible grazing units purchased by at least 10 percent. Grasses and other forages have critical requirements
for growth after dormancy, such as warm soil, sunshine for photosynthesis and rainfall. If soil moisture is lack- ing, it can affect the survival of new buds growing on grass stems. There may be damage to the potential for adequate warm-season grass growth for the next year. Ranchers should avoid overgrazing rangeland or pas- tures, which depletes the resource base. For example,
Gather precipitation data during the vegetative dor- mant season. Below-average rainfall during this period is an indication that drought may be coming.
producers in the Texas Panhandle expect to receive about a third of the year’s average 6.2 inches of moisture be- tween October and April. “We’ve gathered information,” Bailey explains. “Instead
of being completely blinded throughout the year, we’re at least cognizant that the risk for drought is there. If I’ve received 70 percent of those 6.2 inches, I’m probably go- ing to consider a smaller allotment of stockers. If rainfall is extremely low on April 1, this might signal that you need to batten down the hatches for a severe drought.” However, if it starts raining at the end of April, stock-
ers can be added to an operation, since they tend to be available all year long. Bailey recommends buying as many as will fi t on available pasture in June and continue to practice a normal production year. He likes stockers because preparing them for sale takes less time than
92 The Cattleman February 2016
Eric Bailey, Ph.D., West Texas A&M University, Canyon, will teach a class on this topic at the 2016 Cattle Raisers Convention, April 8 to 10, Fort Worth. Visit
www.cattle- raisersconvention. com to register and for schedule details.
waiting for the gestation, birth and weaning of a calf. Stockers can gain 2 pounds a day over a 100-day period, and are easy to sell.
July 1 trigger The most important trigger date is July 1. Did grass
production meet the producer’s expectations? In a warm season native rangeland, more than 50 percent of the forage growth occurs in a 60-day window. For example, in Amarillo, 50 percent of the annual forage production occurs in May and June, when only 30 percent of the average annual precipitation is received. Rainfall after July 1 is half as effective at growing grass
as moisture received during May and June. In 2013, this region was dry during May and June, and
then it began raining in July. Pastures were knee-high in blue grama, but instead of growing new leaves, these grasses shot up a seed head, which didn’t provide the same quality of feed that leafy forage would have provided. Consider selling some or all of the stockers to reduce
the stocking rate on your land if rainfall is less than 70 percent of historical average between April 1 and July 1. In addition to monitoring rainfall, ranchers should
The time to plan for drought is when it is raining.
also watch body condition scores (BCS). Bailey likes to see cows with a BCS of 5 or 6 at calving. “If they’re thin going into calving and it’s dry, we’re
defi nitely not going to put any condition on [the cows] and our rebreeding is probably not going to be what we
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