Planning for Beef Cattle Operations in the Face of Drought

Parts of Nebraska are extremely dry. Even timely rains are not likely to result in normal crop and grass production on non-irrigated ground. Livestock operations dependent on grass from April through the remainder of the year are greatly susceptible to problems. Below normal grass production will mean lower carrying capacities. Rainfall shortage may also impact livestock drinking water in areas with shallow wells and areas that depend on small earthen dams. Early planning usually offers more options since the options are often time dependent. But late planning is better than no planning