Drought and Survival

[OkieKubota]

Pretty dry! Here at the Hollow we somehow snuck some showers in in august that brought us out of a really bad drought but not before we lost a bunch of trees of all types. The rainfall wasn’t as plentiful at our other farm where the cattle are and it is really showing bigly now. I have a small pond that has never gone dry in my lifetime that I am monitoring daily as it shrinks about 20” in diameter a day at this point and I may have to move cattle to another paddock I was hoping to save for another month before I turned them over there...glad my cattle like leaves and briars at this point...

 

[deer patch]

Man I’m hating this for you guys. I know how depressing it was in our recent’19 4 months wo any rain. No crops and worse yet no browse for deer. Acorns aborted early and were poor quality. Rough year for deer and ‘20 buck racks were subpar.
Only good thing was even the weeds stayed suppressed for couple years especially thistle.
I’ll with hold the bad news of plot management 3 years later for another time. You guys can only handle certain amount of bad news.
Prayers for rain soon!


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It hurts less if you just rip the bandage off instead of easing it off, so let it rip. I think they can handle it.

 

[KSQ2]

I heard the first reports this evening of EHD casualties, 2 bucks and now 2 does, I thought it was only one doe, but a conversation with the landowner clarified it. This all within a couple miles of Dearing, KS.

 

[KSQ2]

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[OkieKubota]

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Looks like rain moving through your area…

 

[KSQ2]

Looks like rain moving through your area…

We got 5/100s

 

[KSQ2]

Another local town is beginning water restrictions, Coffeyville. 112 days without significant rain and no end in sight. What I wouldn’t give to have that hurricane head this way. It will stay well to the east though.

 

[Buckly]

We don’t have drought in this part of the Country, not in my lifetime anyways so I empathize. Hopefully you have a seasonal shift in weather very soon and you can get some relief

 

[OkieKubota]

We don’t have drought in this part of the Country, not in my lifetime anyways so I empathize. Hopefully you have a seasonal shift in weather very soon and you can get some relief

Drought is something we deal with in some degree every late summer and sometimes early spring. This years is similar to 2011...farmers and ranchers are selling their entire herds and this is the year we decided to get into cattle so nobody ever take stock advice from me I am on the last bit of grass we had and I have about 2 weeks worth if we pound it hard but there are no chances of rain for 2 weeks. We haven’t had it quite as bad as KSQ2 but according to all measures we are in extreme drought. The ponds are lower than I have ever seen them and my business doing dozer work is at a standstill unless it is working in dried ponds due to the dust. We are on a well and everyday I wonder if today is the day...

 

[dogghr]

We got our first freezes this wk w some dusting of snow on highest ridges which made Nuisance weeds in plots to begun dieing off.
4-6 inches of predicted rain this wkend from Ian will prob provide some bad flooding for some. if it occurs. With the logger active on my place it will get nasty after a month dry spell.
I overseeded WC in my perennial plots yesterday and hope to put down grains in all plots before rains if I can get free.
As said I’ve lived the drought drama a few times and it isn’t fun.


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[KSQ2]

Drought is something we deal with in some degree every late summer and sometimes early spring. This years is similar to 2011...farmers and ranchers are selling their entire herds and this is the year we decided to get into cattle so nobody ever take stock advice from me I am on the last bit of grass we had and I have about 2 weeks worth if we pound it hard but there are no chances of rain for 2 weeks. We haven’t had it quite as bad as KSQ2 but according to all measures we are in extreme drought. The ponds are lower than I have ever seen them and my business doing dozer work is at a standstill unless it is working in dried ponds due to the dust. We are on a well and everyday I wonder if today is the day...

Hang in there Okie, the long term forecast looks somewhat optimistic, but I’m not sure if they just put those high rain chances on there to keep us coming back to their websites. If they continually stay 16-20 days out, I’ll begin to suspect some foul play at hand.
Don’t misunderstand, I know things are scary down there right now, but I can’t help but be envious of all that color on radar down in Florida. That’s how desperate we are.

 

[weekender21]

SE getting some moisture.

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[KSQ2]

Well, the forecast is a joke, the chance for rain is continually off, staying 2 weeks out indefinitely. Meteorologists are the worst, their work means nothing and there is no accountability whatsoever.
My in-laws are in the horrible position of trying to decide what to do with their herd. They run about 300 cow/calf pairs. They have found someone who will sell them hay, but they cannot decide if they should buy, they are almost out of water in 1/3 of their pastures. I’m not sure they would even have the option of watering livestock with the coming water restrictions. If we weren’t on well water, I would no longer be allowed to water our trees at the farm.

 

[SwampCat]

Well, the forecast is a joke, the chance for rain is continually off, staying 2 weeks out indefinitely. Meteorologists are the worst, their work means nothing and there is no accountability whatsoever.
My in-laws are in the horrible position of trying to decide what to do with their herd. They run about 300 cow/calf pairs. They have found someone who will sell them hay, but they cannot decide if they should buy, they are almost out of water in 1/3 of their pastures. I’m not sure they would even have the option of watering livestock with the coming water restrictions. If we weren’t on well water, I would no longer be allowed to water our trees at the farm.

I agree - weather predictors are often wrong and have no accountability. I have seen the accuweather app showing no chance of rain - when it is pouring and their own radar shows rain. I think why in the hell dont you just look outside and correct your app.

 

[weekender21]

Anything outside 72 hours is hard to predict, a 14 day forecast is an “educated” guess at best.


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[cutman]

I got 8.95” of rain from Hurricane Ian. Looks like 4” at the farm. It truly is feast or famine.

 

[OkieKubota]

Well, the forecast is a joke, the chance for rain is continually off, staying 2 weeks out indefinitely. Meteorologists are the worst, their work means nothing and there is no accountability whatsoever.
My in-laws are in the horrible position of trying to decide what to do with their herd. They run about 300 cow/calf pairs. They have found someone who will sell them hay, but they cannot decide if they should buy, they are almost out of water in 1/3 of their pastures. I’m not sure they would even have the option of watering livestock with the coming water restrictions. If we weren’t on well water, I would no longer be allowed to water our trees at the farm.

Yep...every great once in awhile they give us a 30% chance about 12 days or so out and then whisk it away the very next day...our 14 day is not showing a thing...hay starts being fed this coming week on our farm...

 

[dogghr]

2 inches last night from Ian. Another couple today and tomorrow. Spend day staring out window I suppose. Few years ago Hurricane Sandy gave us 2 ft of snow about this time so could be worse I guess. After dry month logger at farm should be knee deep in mud for few days.


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[Long Cut]

I got 8.95” of rain from Hurricane Ian. Looks like 4” at the farm. It truly is feast or famine.

I planted plots last Thursday expecting to get 2-3” this weekend... Ian turned and that 2-3” rain forecast in reality became 0”

We haven’t gotten a significant rain event in a month here in West GA. It’s an absolute struggle.

 

[OkieKubota]

I turned the herd back in with the weaned heifers and I had 1 bale in with the heifers that the other cattle are enjoying now so I guess I have started feeding hay now...may get frost before next rain as frost is forecast mid month and rain isn’t...