Ag Commissioner Goehring organizes drought roundtable in Mandan.
Those taking part in the roundtable included Carl Dahlen, NDSU Extension beef cattle specialist and Kevin Sedivec, NDSU Extension rangeland specialist who addressed forage quality and livestock management strategies that can be used in times of drought; crop insurance forage options with Shad Weber, senior risk management specialist at the Risk Management Agency; Brad Olson, conservation program manager with the N.D. Farm Services Agency (FSA) and Patrick Fridgen with the State Water Commission.
In fact we have seen some cattle already moved to other areas where there is an adequate supply of grass and still others have resorted to selling a portion of their herd.
I think integrity and character means a whole lot more than a piece of paper.” Forage supplies and livestock management – Unfortunately, the forage supply for grazing and hay has been pretty well determined for this year, according to Sedivec.
“And what is even more important is we are looking at a 50 to 70 percent loss in hay production, and I think our producers are really going to need some forage to get the cows through the winter months.” He noted that if we do get rain in July, some annual forages can be planted for that time period such as millet, sorghum Sudan grass, or a warm season crop that will produce biomass that can be grazed or hayed.
For instance, with early weaning of the calves we can see energy reduction needs of the cow by 30 to 50 percent, Dahlen noted.
Livestock Water Supply Program reactivated – Recently the State Water Commission reactivated the “Drought Disaster Livestock Water Supply Project Assistance Program” and Fridgen from the SWC mentioned a few of the program’s highlights.
He noted that in order to use CRP for grazing purposes the producer must have written approval from the local FSA office and have an approved stocking rate that is determined by the NRCS in each situation.
There are other programs FSA has that can help livestock producers during times of drought, Olson noted.
Olson encouraged producers to contact their local FSA office for more information or to contact his office directly at bradley.olson@nd.usda.gov or by calling 701-239-5224.