“Hay barns are still empty and the spring hay crop yield is running about 50-60 percent of normal at this point.”

“The only small bright spot is that overall average hay quality this spring will likely be better due to the early seasonal harvest,” Jennings said. “Pasture growth has stalled due to the dry conditions and the small amount of hay may be needed to feed livestock if rain doesn’t arrive soon.”

Robert Seay, Benton County extension staff chair for University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the drought “will be an ongoing story."

“We currently have extremely thin forage stands that were created by the 2010-2011 dry pattern. This is further impacted by the 2012 dry pattern. That simply means more weeds, reduced yields and more expense required to re-establish these fields at some point in the future.”

Jennings said producers are asking him about their options for a dry summer. One option is to cull poor performing cattle to reduce the amount of forage needed.

“However, improving pasture management can also be effective,” he said. “Producers who plan ahead get themselves into a position to take advantage of better growing conditions when those conditions eventually arrive.“

Some recommendations from Jennings:

• Protect any remaining standing forage by shutting pasture gates or by using temporary electric fencing. Manage it like standing hay and feed it a few acres at a time to make it last as long as possible. A solar fence energizer and single strand of temporary electric wire can be installed in a matter of minutes to subdivide pastures as needed.


• Rotational grazing is a good drought management tool. Rotational grazing helps maintain forage growth longer into a drought period than continuous grazing. Overgrazing weakens plants and leads to shortened root systems causing them to respond more slowly to rain and fertilizer than do healthier plants. Rotating pastures during drought conditions can help protect the pastures that will be needed for summer production.


• Although all forages produce lower yield when drought occurs, some species including bermudagrass and KY-31 tall fescue can tolerate heavy grazing pressure and still persist while others are eliminated from the stand. Manage grazing pressure carefully during prolonged dry weather to prevent loss of high quality forage species such as novel endophyte fescue, clover, and orchardgrass.


• Feeding hay and limit grazing during dry weather can stretch available forage on drought-stressed pastures. If all pastures are already grazed short and no regrowth is being produced then cattle can be shut in a single pasture and fed hay until better growing conditions arrive. This practice may be detrimental to that pasture, but it helps protect forage in other pastures that will needed for later grazing.  FG