river dry

Wohlers  Ranch is once again suffering a drought year.  The past 2 years have been above average in moisture received, but so far this year we  haven't yet reached 4" of moisture, last year we were at 13" and average is 9".  Plus we have had a lot of hot drying wind.  The pastures are drying down and grass has stopped growing.  We are going to be very short on winter grass and hay costs are double that of 2 years ago (if you can find any at all).  We are already trying to find feed for winter, but may need to sell much of the cow herd.  Of course many ranchers are in the same predicament so naturally  the market for good cows  has dropped considerably.  This is a photo of the Niobrara River near the ranch buildings showing that it quit flowing this week.  The river quit flowing on to the ranch for several months each summer for 4 years during the drought of the last decade which was the only time that happened in the history of the ranch.

water for cattle

The rotational grazing program that we do on the ranch allows for a more healthy range and more forage for the cows.  This is accomplished by grazing with a large number of cows for a brief period of time then allowing the pasture many months without cows for regrowth.  This is great for the grass, but presents a problem to have enough water for a larger group of cows when we must rely on wind to pump the water.  We attempt to solve the problem by pumping with electricity (too expensive to  put in lines to distant pastures), by using solar panels to produce electricity to run the pumps or by creating more storage of water by putting in bigger tanks to collect water when the wind does blow or the sun shines.  Some wells have 24 foot tanks that hold 5,000 gallons of water,  but at this windmill we lined up 4 of the 11 foot tanks that together hold 4,000 gallons of water.  It was not an easy job getting the tanks level and each tank to be 4 inches lower  than the tank before it.  Then dirt was banked around them to hold them in place.

Blake studies?????

Blake is enrolled in the "High Plains Ranch Practicum" involving 8 days over the next 7 months.  This is a program developed at the regional research centers of the U. of Wyoming and UNL.  He attended 2 days this week and studied grazing management with emphasis on drought conditions (especially needed this year) and body condition scoring of cattle to determine if they are maintaining appropriate weight.  Later he will study marketing, nutrition for cattle and other topics related to the ranching business.

Garden time

Calving season is over and the cow-calf pairs are on new grass in summer pastures.  The calves have been given their initial immunizations and are satisfied with the new surroundings.
Blake has turned some of his attention to cultivating the ranch garden that has finally started growing with the summer heat, although the severe winds the past month and the lack of rain has been problematic.  The biggest crop will be tomatoes (there are 20 plants at the ranch and others in Scottsbluff).