Planning for the 2021 growing and grazing season

How can you make well-informed decisions for summer grazing? We all know that 2020 was a drought year in Colorado. Soils are dry and will need to be refilled. When do we need the moisture for summer grass? How can we plan for the 2021 grazing season?   

Cooperative extension research across the high plains found that cumulative precipitation up to 30 days before peak grass growth has the most impact. For eastern Colorado, peak grass growth is in June and July. That means the moisture received to mid-June sets the stage for summer grass growth. This is also true for southwest Nebraska and western Kansas as well as short grass prairie and sandy sites in southeast Wyoming and the southern part of the Nebraska panhandle.

Where needle and thread and western wheat grass dominate the range in southeast Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle, peak growth shifts to May-June. Thus, the critical cumulative precipitation date moves up to mid-May.

But it would be helpful to anticipate what might be in store before May and June. Results from over 70 years of research from the Agricultural Research Service range in Nunn may help.

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