Drought

Drought and heat dried up pastures early in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. Hay prices are high, as drought and heat diminished production, leaving ranchers worried about feeding cattle and opting to sell livestock. Water supplies from rivers and streams were also less plentiful and dried up six weeks early. Alfalfa growth was slowed by heat. Large hay bales were selling for about $210 per ton, stated a Walla Walla Valley hay grower, up 20% compared to other years. Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (Wash.), July 27, 2021

California’s dairy farmers and beef-cattle producers were struggling to find feed for their livestock, but it is so expensive, that even if feed can even be found, profits on the livestock were dwindling, leading to cattle liquidation. The Sacramento Bee (Calif.), July 29, 2021

The Idaho Department of Water Resources announced that junior groundwater users would be curtailed if they were not a part of a mitigation plan. An updated prediction warned of a shortfall among senior priority surface water users in the Eastern Snake River Plain who were thought to be 170,500 acre-feet short, according to the director of IDWR. The shortfall will force the curtailment of more than 500 water rights that have priority dates later than June 14, 1977 that are not in compliance. MagicValley.com (Idaho Falls, Idaho), July 22, 2021

Extreme drought in northern Minnesota was creating the most dangerous fire season in decades as more than 1,500 fires blackened more than 34,000 acres since March. In Bemidji, burning yard waste was prohibited, as was lighting legal fireworks or using a campfire outside of an established fire ring. Bemidji firefighters were responding to more grass fires than usual. WCCO-TV CBS 4 (Minneapolis, Minn.), July 26, 2021

Extreme drought in northern Minnesota was creating the most dangerous fire season in decades as more than 1,500 fires blackened more than 34,000 acres since March. WCCO-TV CBS 4 (Minneapolis, Minn.), July 26, 2021 More than 1,400 fires in Minnesota have burned about 35,000 acres since March. KMXK-FM (St. Cloud, Minn.), July 2, 2021 Spring is typically the busiest time for fires in Minnesota, but dry conditions led to an earlier start to grass fire season with 10 blazes occurring already. Fall was dry and winter brought below-average snowfall. Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minn.), March 25, 2021

Parts of Maui were in extreme drought, meaning grass was not abundant, and axis deer were competing with cattle for the grass. With grass drying up and forage getting short, nearly 30% of a rancher’s cattle were sold. With the deer outnumbering cattle by a long way, it’s a losing battle. Hawaii News Now (Honolulu, Hawaii), July 28, 2021

Drought, intense heat and a shortage of water has left many small ranchers unable to afford feed for their livestock, making sales inevitable. The irrigation season in southwest Idaho was shortened from about 140 days down to 27. Hay growers in Idaho’s Magic Valley got only one cutting of hay rather than three, causing feed prices to rise. A western Colorado rancher was dealing with similar challenges, forcing her to slowly sell cattle. Hay production was 60% of normal, so she bought hay from Kansas. Time (New York), July 29, 2021

These are lean times for northern Montana ranchers in need of feed for their cattle for the coming winter. This drought was the worst in at least 30 years, and on top of that, grasshoppers came and devoured crops, leaving short stems poking out of the ground. The insects even cleaned the leaves off of trees and shrubs. Billings Gazette (Mont.), July 28, 2021

Persistent drought in eastern Arizona was still affecting livestock, despite the monsoon rains of the past two weeks. Natural vegetation was still lacking on grazing lands. Eastern Arizona Courier (Safford, Ariz.), July 27, 2021

Crops were struggling for lack of rain in North Dakota near the Canadian border. Wheat stands were uneven—some fields have headed out, while others were just starting. Some wheat was beginning to go from green to gold. Some of the wheat heads were half the usual size or deformed. Pastures were dry, and forage yields were drastically reduced, leaving ranchers worried about feed. Water holes were drying up. Some of the remaining ones had blue-green algae, which is toxic to cattle. Bees did not pollinate the canola field for lack of water. Agweek (Fargo, N.D.), July 28, 2021

Excessive heat on top of drought has worsened the situation for North Dakota ranchers. Hay was in short supply, feed was expensive, and pastures were deteriorating. Kist Livestock has sold 30% more livestock at their auctions this year, compared to previous years. They have also held two sales per week to keep up for the past three and a half months, and still have plenty of ranchers needing to sell livestock. The heat led ranchers to sell a quarter of their herds, but many were leaning toward selling half at present. Part of the challenge is that farmers and ranchers were just getting over the 2017, so another one so soon was difficult to weather. KFYR Your News Leader (Bismarck, N.D.), July 28, 2021

Drought was stunting the growth of corn and soybean plants. Small grains like wheat and barley had reduced yields, according to the county executive director. This being a critical time for corn and soybean reproduction, the crops need water and less stress from heat, or the yield potential can be lost. A grain grower west of Princeton expects a below average yield, ranging from maybe 100 or less up to 140 bushels per acre, depending on when the drought breaks. The quality may suffer anyway. Hay production was down. The first cutting was normal, but the second one was short. A dairy farmer near Onamia said his haylage harvest was down one-third, leading him to harvest hay from a swamp just to have something to feed his cattle, knowing that it will lack the proper nutrients for young cattle growth. Some were having to take cattle off of pasture, due to drought, and will have to begin feeding the livestock or sell some of the herd. Coon Rapids Union-Times (Minn.), July 29, 2021

Grass was nearly used up in parts of Owyhee County, and the hay market was tightening. A Nevada hay buyer bought an entire crop of hay, not notably high in quality, and paid about $200 per ton, but would have paid just $130 to $140 per ton a year ago. Spring and summer moisture has been too scarce to generate any feed on winter ranges for the coming winter. Meanwhile, some creeks were running dry as though it were September, requiring some to haul water. Mormon crickets were also more abundant than usual and were consuming grasses and seed heads. The Bruneau River was expected to run dry maybe a month and a half early this year. Irrigation water from the Owyhee River ended on July 20 for the Mountain City, Nevada area. A feedlot owner in the Murphy-Melba, Idaho area stated that many customers were hoping to deliver livestock a month early because they didn’t have feed for them. Typically, deliveries occur from October through December. Capital Press (Salem, Ore.), July 26, 2021

The hot, dry weather has stressed Iowa crops, particularly in the drought-affected part of the state. CBC (Carroll, Iowa), July 27, 2021

Northern Plains farmers and the beer brewing industry were concerned about barley quality as drought hastened crop maturity. A grower in Barnes County in eastern North Dakota stated that his stands were very uneven. Drought may decrease the barley kernel size and test weights, but increase the protein content, to the point that the barley is no longer useable for malting barley. Barley that is grown for malting and brewing must be of the highest quality, and drought may jeopardize the quality. Park Rapids Enterprise (Minn.), July 26, 2021

A Moab, Utah rancher sold 209 cow-calf pairs, or about 30% of his herd, in Loma after a fire destroyed part of his pasture. Associated Press (New York), July 26, 2021

Hay production for one Routt County grower was just 10 bales, due to heat and low water supplies, although he got 30 bales from that field in 2020. Associated Press (New York), July 26, 2021

Western Colorado cattle ranchers were stressed by high hay prices as drought curbed grass growth, leaving ranchers selling livestock. Cattle sales were unusually brisk at the Loma Livestock auction in western Colorado, although fall is typically the busy season when calves are sold. Ranchers want to sell their animals while prices were still good. Associated Press (New York), July 26, 2021

A campfire ban took effect in Oregon on July 22 in all state-managed parks and forests east of Interstate 5, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. Open flames were prohibited, but portable stoves and lanterns with liquid fuel were permitted. The new fire restriction was intended to preserve the state’s strained firefighting resources for “existing large fires as well as new blazes that may emerge” as fire conditions were more like that of late summer. Nearly a half of a million acres have burned in Oregon since the July 4th weekend. Salem Statesman-Journal (Ore.), July 21, 2021

All Department of Natural Resources-managed lands in eastern Washington were closed to the public effective midnight on July 23, due to extreme fire danger and ongoing drought east of the Cascades. KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland (Ore.), July 20, 2021