Preparing As Pastureland Dries Out

The cool wet spring allowed grasses and pastures across the Northwest to rebound very nicely.  But as temperatures warm up and conditions dry out, its important cattle producers are proactive addressing anything that can deplete their fields.  Justin Hossfeld with Envu said not only have grasses across the Northwest grown, but invasive species have benefited from the winter and spring rains as well.  And he noted those weeds have heavy seed sets and grew a lot of foliage.

“And which that means that turns into a lot of fuel," Hossfeld said.  "And then now that like you referenced, now that that weather is turning hot and dry, these annuals are masters that at reading the weather, sensing things and they're going to immediately turn from growth to maturing and turning into that very mature, very flammable fuel source that not only is highly flammable, but it's it fills the interconnected spaces of our Prairie range systems to where it's a connected method for that fire to continually to move and to jump along.”

Livestock Rotation Is Key

Hossfeld noted it’s important that as temperatures rise and soils dry, that producers and managers are monitoring pastures.  And that means operators must be diligent when it comes to rotation and distribution.

“Moving them around whether it's with mineral or salt or turning water on and off for temporary fence, that's going to be the way that we work on mitigating that," Hossfeld added.  "And then we have a great tool called RangeView that a producer can use to get a holistic view and a snapshot of where their strengths and weaknesses are to help them increase their effectiveness in this rotational grazing and making the best of the forge resource they have.”

Click Here to learn more about RangeView.  Click Here to learn about other products Envu has to help livestock producers weather the upcoming dog days of summer.

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