MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – A reprieve from the western drought is not likely, say two range management experts.
As of Jan. 7, most of the American west was in a severe drought situation. In Alberta, almost 90 percent of the province has insufficient moisture to grow a crop this spring.
“If you are looking for good conditions there, that is not likely going to happen,” said Justin Derner of the United States Department of Agriculture.
He and Alberta range specialist Barry Adams described to a range science seminar in Medicine Hat Jan. 20-21 how drought is a regular feature of the rangelands.
Read Also
VIDEO: British company Antler Bio brings epigenetics to dairy farms
British company Antler Bio is bringing epigenetics to dairy farms using blood tests help tie how management is meeting the genetic potential of the animals.
Most native grasslands are adapted to drought. The most severe dry periods on record were during the 1930s, 1951-56, 1988 and 2002. These droughts caused some plant species to disappear.
Most of the province has experienced at least five years of abnormal winter weather so there is no runoff or subsoil moisture reserves, said Adams, who works with Alberta’s sustainable development department.
Mixed grasslands in the far south recovered last year after heavy spring snow and June rain. Forage yields ranged from 88 to 144 percent of normal as the land recovered. Southeast Alberta produced 92-171 percent of normal forage.
The foothills had 50-92 percent of yield. Although moisture was reasonable, an unusually cold spring stalled pasture regrowth.
The south-central parkland areas have had two years of severe drought with 11-49 percent of normal forage yield last year.
Those making a living off the range need a plan to prepare for extended drought periods.
The contingency plans included balancing the grass supply with the number of animals turned out to graze. Proper stocking rates are site specific.
The old rule of thumb to take half the forage and leave half doesn’t apply to many of the more fragile grasslands.
Other measures taken by range managers in the past few years included extending feeding periods, culling deeply, sending calves to market early, moving livestock to greener pastures and in some cases selling entire herds. Some ranchers have delayed turning animals into pastures and rounded them up early in the late summer or early fall.
Of the two million acres of grazing land in the Medicine Hat area, 500,000 acres were not grazed last year.
This allows for regrowth and rebuilding of mulch on the soil to enhance moisture retention and prevent erosion.
Drought is teaching range managers valuable lessons as they prepare for the next crisis.
When the federal government established stocking rates on leaseland in the West in the late 19th century, 10 acres per head was said to be a reasonable stocking rate.
“It set the stage for overgrazing of the range,” Adams said.
By the 1930s, range managers cut back on cattle allowed into a pasture. For example, the stocking rate in the Manyberries area of southeastern Alberta is now 80-120 acres per head.
