The solution to dealing with our semiarid climate and managing our rangeland is to always plan for the next drought. Someone once said, planning for drought should begin when its wet or raining, so that means we should have been doing that last summer. As one thinks about how to plan for extended dry periods here are some things to consider as suggested by Wayne Hamilton, Director of the Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management at Texas A&M University.
Range managers should work to build their forage base so that soil cover is maintained, while at the same time work toward having the best kinds of plants and animals. Other tips include improving efficiency of range utilization with better grazing distribution, and make sure that livestock water is not a limiting factor. Matching animal nutrient requirements with range nutrient availability is important, along with being able to assess the forage quality and quantity and mediate the deficiencies. Prepare a wildlife management plan and improve the efficiency of supplemental feeding programs, while at the same time develop less drought sensitive on -and off-ranch alternative income sources. This is just a small sample of items to consider when planning for droughts, but your number one goal should be to maintain soil surface cover, as this will facilitate rainfall recovery in the soil profile when rains return.
