Drought conditions leading to less forage for Ag producers
POTTER COUNTY, Texas (KVII) — Drought conditions in the Texas Panhandle are impacting ag producers. A lack of moisture is creating a deficit of forage needed for producers who use wheat as a primary source of energy for livestock.
“When we look at the snowfall that we have received, the precipitation equivalent from that has not been very great," said Dr. Jourdan Bell, an agronomist at Texas A&M Agrilife. "An inch of snow is not equal to an inch of precipitation or rainfall.”
Dr. Bell tells ABC 7 News the quantity of rainfall or moisture from snow this winter has been a dry snowfall event. Accompanied by high winds, the soil dries out quickly after rain and snow.
The drought conditions in the Texas Panhandle can create a potential forage deficit.
“What we have seen this year is a lack of forage production. Our wheat for grazing has been very stressed, so cattle are being pulled off of wheat pasture earlier than normal," said Bell.
“With available forage limitations, as producers, we're striving to find alternatives or different management strategies that we can adapt and employ to try and make our operations more resilient to the drought," said Jason Smith, cattle producer & beef specialist.
With no rain expected in the near forecast, what does that mean for this winter’s wheat crop?
“We have an extended forecast that looks to be very dry," said Bell. "One of the things we see with wheat is that if we do have improved conditions later in the season, we can see wheat rebound. Wheat is a very resilient crop and I know producers are very optimistic about that because wheat prices are fairly strong this year.”
The lack of moisture combined with a significant spike in demand for forage means beef cattle and dairy producers have to look at alternatives, starting with evaluating production scenarios and grazing management practices.
“How long can we supplement cattle? How long can we try to replace forages? Do we need to be thinking about herd liquidation or maybe herd diversification? Some of those things we'll try (in order) to make ourselves more adaptable to these more volatile type conditions," said Smith.
Regardless of operations, whether it be a cattle or dairy producer, one thing that this industry badly needs right now is moisture in the form of rain.
