Drought and Survival

[OkieKubota]

Well, the two weeks of monsoon is drawing to a close, tomorrow. So far we’ve reached a whopping total of little less than an inch at our property and the in-laws farm. Soon a high will be settling in over us and we’re looking at more arid weather for the remainder of May. Haven’t really even thought about food plots for a while; most years, maintenance would be on mind, that’s a ridiculous joke this year. It’s beginning to feel like I’ll never see another lush clover plot the rest of my life, feels like we live in an AstroTurf world right now, the green that is around is fake and won’t last.

When it does decide to rain this is what happens. A real widespread soaking rain just doesn’t happen anymore, it’s these dinky pop up cells that do drop a lot of rain on a very isolated area in a short amount of time. There are tons of places within 50 miles that got well over 3” the last two weeks. While their neighbors down the road get nothing. It’s pouring at our house right now. Where our family DESPERATELY needs rain 14 miles away……nothing.

View attachment 25385

We had one of those pop ups just appear to our south just the other side of our cattle property and then track the 30 miles to where we live and then on up your way. Here at home we got 1” in 6 minutes! I suspect the cattle farm got something similar but I will have to check the gauge. The 2 weeks of rain gave us 2.1” total here at home and more than that down at the cattle farm. I really do feel for what you guys are going through. Even here in Oklahoma there are a lot of places just like where you are out further west of here. Hay will be a problem for many this year again

 

[KSQ2]

We had one of those pop ups just appear to our south just the other side of our cattle property and then track the 30 miles to where we live and then on up your way. Here at home we got 1” in 6 minutes! I suspect the cattle farm got something similar but I will have to check the gauge. The 2 weeks of rain gave us 2.1” total here at home and more than that down at the cattle farm. I really do feel for what you guys are going through. Even here in Oklahoma there are a lot of places just like where you are out further west of here. Hay will be a problem for many this year again

The only plus I can see for my in-laws right now is they have several a couple hundred acres of pasture just setting because of the dried up ponds. I’m not sure if they will be able to hay them or not. Most of their pasture is fescue, and fescue haying season is almost upon us and most of the cool season hay looks awful and it wasn’t grazed in the early spring, like their pasture. So who knows for sure? Those pastures WILL be primed and ready if they can ever get the ponds full again though.

 

[OkieKubota]

The only plus I can see for my in-laws right now is they have several a couple hundred acres of pasture just setting because of the dried up ponds. I’m not sure if they will be able to hay them or not. Most of their pasture is fescue, and fescue haying season is almost upon us and most of the cool season hay looks awful and it wasn’t grazed in the early spring, like their pasture. So who knows for sure? Those pastures WILL be primed and ready if they can ever get the ponds full again though.

I see a pile of rain moving through there with a huge amount coming right behind it...I think we are sitting this one out...rain appears to be moving more NW into those areas that really need it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[KSQ2]

Hope so Okie, the bigger rain is somehow still managing to avoid us somehow. So far about a half inch, if we can finally get an inch rain, I’ll be very happy. On the other hand, 15 miles east of us, close to Independence, there’s water standing in the fields.

 

[OkieKubota]

KSQ2 surely you got rain this morning!

 

[KSQ2]

Yep, and it seems to be quite wide spread too for a change! No pond fillers, but nice and appreciated anyway.

 

[MarkDarvin]

Yep, and it seems to be quite wide spread too for a change! No pond fillers, but nice and appreciated anyway.

I hope you get a nice long soak fella! Please report back how much you get. I’ve been watching your area for a while wondering when that’s gonna break.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KSQ2]

I hope you get a nice long soak fella! Please report back how much you get. I’ve been watching your area for a while wondering when that’s gonna break.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not sure if this one is over yet, it's not raining now. If it's done, then our 3 weeks total will equal about 2.5". There were places within 50 miles of us that got over 9" in the same time frame.

 

[OkieKubota]

I'm not sure if this one is over yet, it's not raining now. If it's done, then our 3 weeks total will equal about 2.5". There were places within 50 miles of us that got over 9" in the same time frame.

This mornings rain gave us 1.1” here at home and 1.6” at the cattle farm.

 

[cutman]

I'm not sure if this one is over yet, it's not raining now. If it's done, then our 3 weeks total will equal about 2.5". There were places within 50 miles of us that got over 9" in the same time frame.

50 miles might as well be 1000 miles here in South Carolina. It’s common for there to vastly different storm totals 5 miles a part.

Glad you got some rain. Hopefully the weather pattern is changing.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Had a nice 1.50" at the Ponderosa this morning. Praise the Lord. The last rains have everything green at the moment. Moisture in the forecast for the remainder of May. Hopefully, that will happen as the subsoil moisture is severely depleted.

 

[Drycreek]

I had a lease in Central Texas for years, 1406 acres all told. There were two rain gauges, one at the S end and one on the N end. It was fairly common to see a half inch to an inch difference in the rain totals and they were only a mile or so apart. Strange.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Dry spring here in PA. At home, news said we had 0.25" of measurable rain for May. I had to get the flower bed sprinklers going early. At camp, it's been nearly as dry, with minimal chances of rain in the 10 day forecast.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

A really nice and unusual wet weather pattern here at the Ponderosa. Last year's 8.00" annual rainfall has taken a toll on this area and the subsoil is severely depleted. My winter wheat has come back from the brink of death to a cuttable crop(hopefully). The pastures(buffalo grass) are unbelievable green(much like the Kansas flint hills after a nice rain after the spring burns). How long it will stay this way is anyone's guess as the shallow upper moisture is taken and there is no subsoil available. Some have not been as fortunate and will not have a wheat crop on much of their acreage this year. I also have friends in Elk County in the Flint Hills that have dry or very low ponds and some limited cattle stocking this year. Friends in Ellsworth County in the Smoky Hills report dry or very low ponds also. Out here, these short grass prairies can go from green to the color of a manilla envelope when they run out of moisture. Yesterday, Friday, June 2nd, gave us a nice 2.00" rain and today more rain. My waste areas(not grazed or farmed) are growing up to be a jungle in giant ragweed, lambsquarters, and kochia. I love when that happens as it is great habitat for all the wildlife. Last year resulted in zero turkey poults, only one fawn recruitment, extremely low quail, pheasant and lesser prairie chicken hatches. This year seems very different; I think hen turkeys are nesting, I've seen a couple of pairs of quail and heard some calling around the farmstead(something I didn't hear last year and I can't remember going a year without hearing quail around the farmstead).
Praise the Lord for this moisture and cool weather, I pray it continues and heals this land and the wildlife will respond in abundance.

 

[OkieKubota]

We got a 1.75” Gully Washer here at the house yesterday afternoon. Can already see plant response...

 

[T-Max]

We got a 1.75” Gully Washer here at the house yesterday afternoon. Can already see plant response...

We still need one of those to fill ponds. We got right at 2” this week. 4 half inchers. Put maybe a foot in the pond. Need about 8 more feet. Not complaining about what we got, but all at once is what we need now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KSQ2]

My in-laws got a total of less than 2” in all the the last 3 weeks rain. He hasn’t even mowed his lawn in weeks. That’s unheard of for spring around here. They are sitting at 4” of rain since January and it was already drought torn before that.

 

[OkieKubota]

I just came back from the cattle farm and we got 0” there...3 weeks no rain and everywhere the cows urinate it kills the grass...

 

[Drycreek]

Strange how you can get so much difference in rainfall in thirty miles out of the same storm. We got around 3/4” here at home, my buddy got over 1 3/4” at his house and we got zilch on our lease which is about halfway between us. I looked at the radar twice as the storm passed over us and it showed good rain at the lease. So much for technology huh ?

 

[KSQ2]

Strange how you can get so much difference in rainfall in thirty miles out of the same storm. We got around 3/4” here at home, my buddy got over 1 3/4” at his house and we got zilch on our lease which is about halfway between us. I looked at the radar twice as the storm passed over us and it showed good rain at the lease. So much for technology huh ?

I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about.