The summer of 2024 has been a hard one on the ranch in Southeastern Wyoming. Temperatures have been record-breaking and precipitation has been almost nonexistent. This year, we have had the longest stretch of days above 90 degrees since 2006 with several days over 100 degrees, and have received about 2.25″ less precipitation than average years in Wyoming. Two inches of rain doesn’t seem significant until you consider that the statewide average annual rainfall is roughly 12 inches. That means we received one sixth less rain than usual. In summers like this one, heat and drought can take extreme tolls on the management of our cattle, crops, and fields. Read along to learn about some of the real-life problems heat and drought can bring to ranchers, and how we do our best to manage.
In any season, one of the basic concerns in caring for cattle is ensuring there is sufficient water. While a healthy water supply is something that is often taken for granted in our own homes, a cattle herd on an isolated Wyoming prairie doesn’t have the luxury of calling a plumber when there are water issues. When ranchers “check water”, we do exactly that: check water levels to make sure that tanks, pumps, and other equipment are functioning properly to supply enough water to the cattle in the pasture. Usually everything functions properly and there is enough water to care for the cattle. However, these parts can (and do) fail.
When temperatures soar like they have this summer, cattle cannot survive in the extreme heat without water for more than a couple of days. Checking water becomes extremely important in these conditions. Our ranch manages between 700-800 head of cattle that are spread out over thousands of acres in Southeastern Wyoming. Because of the distance in between pastures, water is often checked every other day or every three days in cooler weather. However, if a pump were to go out for even one day in temps greater than 90 degrees, the risk of heat stress and even death on the cattle could be greatly increased. It becomes imperative for us to check the water in each pasture daily to ensure the cattle are cared for.
So, what happens when these issues arise? We have had several of these instances and we are forced to get creative with our solutions until the water can be fixed. If there is an open pasture nearby with working water, we will sometimes move the cattle to the new pasture. If there are no available pastures, water must be hauled in using a water truck until the parts are repaired. The latter option can be difficult and time consuming because enough water for several hundred cows can amount to several hundred or even several thousand gallons of water.
The wheat we grow on our farm is all done by “dryland farming”, which means that we don’t use pivots or other irrigation methods to help our crops grow. Instead, we rely solely on natural precipitation to water the fields due to lack of easy or economical groundwater access. As a result, spring and early summer rain showers are pivotal to our crops’ success. This spring, not only did temperatures rise earlier than usual, but the Wyoming wind (which is usually much calmer in the summer) blew with exceptional force. These factors combined with the lack of rain made for extremely dry conditions, which were difficult for our crops to grow which resulted in poorer than usual crop yields.
Our grazing pastures were no different. The extreme heat and drought made it difficult for the grass to grow. When the grass doesn’t grow, the cattle don’t have much to eat resulting in lack of weight gain. Check out the pictures below to see the difference in grass levels in the same pasture exactly one year apart – one is green and lush, the other looks like a desert waste land.
For as long as we have been raising crops and cattle in Wyoming, we have lived through many a drought; some so bad that we didn’t know how we would make it through. But, if there is one thing that the unforgiving Wyoming prairies have taught us is how to persevere. With every bad year, there is sure to be a good, and we learn to hang on in the in-between.
Since 1910 we’ve been proudly persevering and through it all have learned enough to make it another 100 years. Proud to be Wyoming, and proud to be Wyoming Pure.