Drought is one of those things that every cattle producer will have to deal with at some point. It ranks right up there with Death and Taxes. Like those two, though it is unavoidable, it is also something that most producers need to prepare for.
But what is drought? Drought is simply a deficiency in precipitation over an extended period and is part of normal climate variability. The duration of drought can vary widely from just a matter of weeks to months or even years. Although hurricanes and tornadoes are more dramatic, droughts are among the most costly weather-related events.
Since these are slow-moving and don’t usually involve direct property damage, we tend to underestimate the effects of drought. As I mentioned above, minimizing the results is the wrong way to look at it. A study by FEMA in 1995 concluded that droughts cost the United States an average of $6 to $8 billion per year.
Now that I have gotten you good and scared, sorry about that by the way, you may be asking yourself, “How can I mitigate the effects that drought will have on my place?“. Well, fear not, I have five tips here that you can follow to make the economic impact more bearable for you.
