Pastures Continue To Fade Across The West

As we work through the dog days of August, it should come as no surprise that pastures and rangelands are drying out.

“Unfortunately, some of the nation's range and pastures are starting to feel the effects of some of the hot weather and in areas that have missed out on some of the recent rainfall, the dry conditions as well," said USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. "Nationally, only one quarter of the nation's range and pastures are in good to excellent condition. That is a significant four percentage point drop from the previous week. We saw a four percentage point increase in the very poor to poor ratings going from 42 to 46% very poor to poor.”

When it comes to conditions across the Northwest:

29% of Washington’s pastures and rangelands are considered poor to very-poor
In Idaho, that figure is 23%
Meanwhile, 42% of Oregon’s pasture and rangeland is considered poor to very-poor.

And it’s not just the Northwest that’s struggling, Rippey noted its much of the western U.S.

“That is where the big problems are occurring," he said. "If you look at the 17 states from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains, four of them have rangeland and pasture conditions, more than 70% very poor to poor, nine of them greater than 40% very poor to poor, and 13 of those 17 states, at least 30% very poor to poor.”

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