NASS Data Shows Pastures Improve

By DTN Staff

OMAHA (DTN) -- Locally drought-stricken areas persist, but many areas of the United States see pasture and range conditions in the good-to-excellent category.

While Nebraska saw a 12-point climb out of the very-poor-to-poor conditions, there are still some areas of southern Nebraska suffering from drought conditions.

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said despite the recent run of good overall weather, there are still some concerns in the Plains. "Drought in and around Nebraska was very deep to start spring and this state basically got missed by much of the active weather pattern that hit southern areas of the country all spring until about the middle of May. Things then came alive, and we've seen some better precipitation; too much in a few areas. But others haven't been as lucky and the drought is still affecting things pretty badly," he added.

Even with recent rains, the drought is still in play as it will take a long time and a lot of rain to get rid of D3 drought. D1 to D2 drought still exists over much of the state and leaks into adjacent states as well.

ADJUST PASTURE STOCKING RATES

Ryan Benjamin, University of Nebraska Beef Systems Extension educator, said knowing how to adjust stocking rates is important when dealing with drought-stricken pastures. He said to first assess the pasture for precipitation accumulation, forage growth and seasonal forecasts. Typically, in Nebraska and nearby states, there is a high likelihood of warmer and drier conditions from June through August.

"Stocking rates can be adjusted to match forage production," he said. When forage production is decreased, the number of cows on that pasture should also be decreased to match. Other strategies like supplemental feeding, limiting animals to a sacrificed area, early weaning, or removing animals from pasture could be used, especially if moisture doesn't come during the summer. The prevention of overgrazing stressed areas can help protect future grass production as well.

Baranick said the rest of the Northern Plains have done well to improve their moisture supplies except near the Canadian border. Northern Montana and North Dakota are still very dry, and drought has been worsening in these areas, parts of Wyoming as well.

Montana has 46% of pasture and range conditions in the very-poor-to-poor category and Wyoming with 36% in the same rank.

Much of the country is on the positive side with pasture and range conditions in the good-to-excellent category. The top three beef cow states of Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri have 54%, 69% and 88% in the good-to-excellent ranking, respectively. South Dakota has also seen a shift of 7 points to the good to excellent with 41% of pastures here.

Baranick said the active weather pattern in the Midwest has been overall really good, but like the Northern Plains, the Midwest has had a strip through it that has been missing out on the rainfall seen elsewhere in the region. "From northern Missouri and southern Iowa through northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, soil moisture is below normal, and drought has expanded here recently," he said. For the next few weeks, an active weather pattern is expected to continue with plenty of opportunity for rainfall through early July.

A hotter and drier forecast is still expected for the middle of the country the rest of the summer, which includes all the Plains and at least the western half of the Midwest. This will likely affect late summer and early fall pasture and range conditions.

Overall, in the past week improvements have been seen in the 48 contiguous states from the previous week, with the worst conditions improving to nearly be positive over the year before. More pastures are in the excellent category over 2024 by 4 points.

See the accompanying maps for more on the changes in various states.

National Pasture and Range Conditions (48 states)

	Very poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
48 States	11	17	26	33	13
Previous week	13	18	26	32	11
Previous year	10	14	28	39	9

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