Supporting Ranchers in a Wet Year

Published: 2019
By Michael Schuldt

Custer County Extension has been the go-to resource for assistance as area farmers and ranchers struggle to find solutions to rain damage crops. 2019 has been a challenge as we have received record amounts of moisture in some areas of the county with the timing preventing the harvest of high-quality forage crops, sprouted cereal crops and low-quality grazing. Services and support from the Extension office to help with these issues include forage sample collection, laboratory testing, in office nitrate risk evaluation and ration development utilizing the Montana Brands nutrition balancing computer software. This year the importance of laboratory analysis has come to light as hay producers have looked for ways to place a value on hay to be offered for sale and those feeding hay. Rainfall between swathing and baling causes a loss of quality and many try to evaluate this loss of quality based on the change in color of the hay. We have had the opportunity to educate growers to the fact that adequate feed value may still exist even when the moisture has caused the hay to change from green to brown. Our assistance has provided planning tools for livestock owners and hay producers to develop a viable plan for utilizing the lower quality hay produced this year to meet livestock winter feeding needs as well as a means to value the hay based on feed quality and palatability.