Drought

The drought in Texas has made news nationwide over the past few months. The severity of the drought continues to increase throughout the state. Here at our ranch, we have only seen about 15" of rain over the past 15 months, putting us into the "exceptional drought" status. (Thanks to Rachel for the drought map link).

Never experienced a drought?
Let us share some of our experiences, aside from the obvious dry air and ground.

Natural forage in the pastures has failed to grow and has died across large areas in the pastures. Now exposed dirt blows freely away in the increasing winds brought by this weather pattern. (We estimate an average of 5"+ of top soil loss so far in our pastures - remember the "dust bowl" years?). All that dirt blowing away exposes a plethora of rocks. (We may not grow grass in the drought, but we sure have a nice crop of rocks!) Area stock tanks and our own creek line has dried up causing wildlife to seek man-made water areas; this wildlife is not always compatible with livestock and people. Predators become bolder and often more aggressive in their hunting (we are very thankful for our Great Pyrenees LGDs). Neighboring water wells providing for livestock and homesteads have dried up, forcing the purchase of water holding tanks and trucked in water (an expensive proposition). Growing vegetables, crops, or even flowers becomes a time-intensive challenge. The danger of fire is extreme; this results in a nagging fear of leaving the ranch unattended for even a few hours and possibly returning to charred remains. Hay prices continue to rise and supply simply cannot support the statewide demand for hay. Feed prices also continue to remain high, and more farmers and ranchers are depending on these feeds to keep their herds going. (Our predominant feed supply manufacturer, Evergreen Mills, decided to shutdown their Texas facilities in February, so now we face the challenge of finding other quality, affordable, and accessible feed suppliers). Oak wilt has hit our area hard since this disease is exacerbated by dry conditions stressing the trees, the last of our stand of old oaks have now "gone to sleep". Without serious rains this Spring, we no longer hold out hope of any of the trees recovering. (Anyone need firewood?) We have also learned that livestock have the natural ability to control fertility and production when the environment does not support their survival. Even with careful management, mineral provision, and supplemental feeding, we have seen a reduction in the number of offspring produced from our herds. In case you are keeping track of the financial side of this, we have seen higher feed & hay costs, with lower production resulting in reduced income. Overall, it's been a rough ride. We continue to pray for rain!

So what will happen when it eventually does rain?

All those dry patches in our pasture leave the exposed top soil open to simply washing away when the first hard, heavy rain that hits. (Oh goodie, more rocks are sure to emerge). Heavy rains on sun-hardened ground will generally result in heavy runoff; localized flooding is not unusual. Just like roaches, the most durable plants to survive the drought will be weeds - some of them sure to be toxic (like nightshade). Toxic weeds and livestock are not a great combination. Until the rain starts and the pastures start to grow again, there is no way to know how much of the pastures will recover, and how much will need to be restarted with seeds or sprigs. Our hay providers will spend the coming years restoring the health and production of their hay fields; this is likely to mean lower than needed production and increased costs of hay. For awhile, the need to supplemental feed will remain. Producers, state-wide, will spend years rebuilding their herds back to the production levels needed. Sadly, some producers will simply shut-down.

What do we do?

First, we pray that the Lord will continue to watch over us and provide for our neighbors and all those struggling. Beyond that, we simply continue to use our available resources wisely and provide the best care we can for our land and our animals. We are thankful that we are a small ranch and can, for the foreseeable future, will be able to manage.

Want to know more about how the drought is affecting Texas farmers and ranchers?
Please take the time to read this article:
Farmers worry as parts of Texas are driest in US