The Franks run about 1,000 cow-calf pairs on pastures around southwestern North Dakota and into South Dakota — some of the areas hardest hit by the 2017 drought.
Farmers and ranchers in parts of the Dakotas and Montana regarded the 2017 drought to be among the worst droughts in recent memory.
However, the U.S. Drought Monitor released May 17 had almost 90 percent of North Dakota in at least abnormally dry conditions, with areas to the west in moderate drought and a small band of severe drought in the north central area, which makes up 5.5 percent of the state.
Last year, the drought was worst in southern and western North Dakota.
The second week in May brought half an inch of rain to the area.
For Frank and other farmers and ranchers in many parts of the region, it’s too soon to say that the drought is over.
Even if the area receives normal precipitation, there’s still a "hangover effect" from last year, which will make timely rains all the more important.
"As soon as we go two weeks without (moisture), you’ll notice very quickly that the grass may remain green but there’s no growth," Schlag says, noting that already is happening in the area north of Highway 200 in North Dakota.
Frank doesn’t expect to run out of hay.
Schlag says southern North Dakota, the area that fared the worst in last year’s drought, has caught the most rain so far this season.