When the Rain Doesn’t Come: A Practical Drought Playbook for Farmers and Ranchers
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 minutes ago
By Buz Kloot
This blog grew out of a recent conversation with three experienced practitioners from the South Dakota NRCS: Tanse Herrmann, State Grazing lands Soil Health Specialist; Marcia Deneke, State Agronomist; and Emily Rohrer, State Rangeland Management Specialist. The purpose of that conversation was simple: we’ve been watching drought conditions develop for some time, hoping for rain—but increasingly recognizing that hope alone is not a strategy.
Across regions, the signals are aligning. In parts of the Southeast, dryland farmers are delaying or even skipping planting due to a lack of moisture. In South Dakota, similar patterns are emerging—particularly in the southeast for row crops and in the southwest for rangeland.
The question that brought us together was straightforward:
What should farmers and ranchers be doing right now?
First Principle: Don’t Wait for Rain to Make Your Decisions
Tanse stated it plainly:
“Having a drought plan, a written drought plan in place with trigger dates and steps to take at said dates—that can’t be overstated.”
And just as importantly:
“If we’re going to protect the resource, we’ve got to start taking these steps.”
That’s the tension every producer feels. It might rain. It always might.
“It’s possible that it will rain… but those long-range forecasts are not indicating that we should think that’s going to happen.”
Drought planning is not about predicting the weather. It’s about making decisions early enough that you still have options.
For Livestock producers: Protect the Grass
One of the most important observations from the field is deceptively simple.
As Tanse explained:
“They’re alive. They might be turning green a little bit, but that is it. They’re not doing any active growth.”
That distinction—green versus growing—is critical.
Even where showers have occurred, the moisture is often superficial:
“We’ve been getting little showers here and there, but it’s only keeping the surface moist. It’s not feeding deep moisture.”
Delay Turnout
Marcia raised a concern many are already seeing:
“Everybody’s going to grass now, and there’s no grass out there… that grass is getting behind right off the bat.”
Her suggestion was practical and timely:
“Maybe it would be beneficial to delay that turnout date.”
This is one of the hardest decisions in a dry spring—feeding hay when grass looks like it should be ready. But delaying turnout may be the difference between maintaining pasture productivity and setting it back for the entire season.
Consider Early Adjustments
Tanse emphasized that this is not necessarily a liquidation moment—but it is a planning moment:
“I don’t think it’s a liquidate-the-herd type of situation at this point, but we darn sure need to be thinking about other sources of forage or maybe just reducing the livestock numbers on the place in some capacity.”
That could include:
· Securing additional forage early
· Leasing pasture
· Reducing stocking pressure before conditions worsen
Emily Rohrer also pointed to tools that can help connect people: “The South Dakota Grazing Exchange… helps connect folks with livestock to those with forages or vice versa.”
Protect the Resource
Tanse summarized the priority clearly:
“Protect the resource, protect the pocketbook to the degree possible.”
And the order matters.
For Crop Producers: Plan for Flexibility, Not Perfection
On the cropping side, Marcia Deneke emphasized the need to shift expectations early.
“I think it’s critical that producers have a realistic yield goal… not necessarily an optimum yield goal, but a realistic yield goal for the growing conditions we have today.”
Build in Flexibility
Equally important:
“Set yourself up for the ability to respond if those growing conditions change.”
That mindset begins with something Marcia emphasized strongly realistic yield expectations under dry conditions.
That decision flows directly into input management, particularly fertilizer.
Practical adjustments might include:
Plan for a realistic yield goal under drought conditions
Split fertilizer applications rather than applying everything upfront
Adjusting plant populations
Rethinking input levels based on risk
As Marcia noted:
“We don’t have control over the weather, but we do have control over how much fertilizer we’re putting on, what our plant populations are… how much tillage we do or not do.”
Plan for Multiple Outcomes
Drought turns every crop into a decision tree.
Marcia framed it this way:
“If this crop doesn’t make it to harvest, what are my options?”
Those options might include:
Harvesting for grain
Cutting for silage
Grazing in place
Transitioning to a cover crop
Protect the Soil
Wind erosion becomes a real concern in dry conditions.
Marcia pointed out:
“We’ve already shared pictures… of soil blowing and so trying to do what we can to mitigate that drought.”
Practical strategies include:
Establishing cover where possible
Leaving residue
Using trap strips
“Leave some strips across the field… to slow that wind velocity across the field.”
Outside the Box: Where Crops and Livestock Meet
One of the most useful insights from the discussion is that drought often breaks down the artificial boundary between cropping and livestock systems.
Crops can become forage.
Livestock can become a harvest tool.
Marcia noted:
“There are people who… set aside a portion of their corn crop… to let the animals harvest that corn.”
And Emily added that unharvested crops can still create value:
“They could have someone come and graze it and maybe get some dollars or exchange or something like that out of it.”
Tanse added an important caution for those harvesting forage:
“Consider how little is left to protect the soil if you chop it for silage… maybe leaving a taller stalk… just to protect that soil over winter.”
For Those Not Yet in Drought: Now Is the Time
Not every operation is struggling—yet.
And that may be the most important group to reach.
Tanse made this point clearly:
“Two-thirds of the state is still looking pretty good… now is still the time to build a drought plan.”
There is also an opportunity in that position.
“Now might be a time… to try something new… or do a full season cover crop.”
Marcia echoed that idea from the cropping side:
“In this… the profit potential may not be there… so now may actually be a good time to incorporate that new crop… into the rotation.”
A Final Thought
We often fall into the habit of waiting for rain to solve our problems.
Sometimes it does.
But more often, resilience comes from decisions made before the clouds gather.
The message from this conversation was consistent:
Act early. Stay flexible. Protect the resource.
Because drought doesn’t just test a single season.
It tests the system.
Links to Useful Drought Resources
Growing Resilience Drought Management Page
SD Grassland Coalition Drought Planning Site (NEW)
NRCS SD Range and Pasture Drought Tools
South Dakota Grazing Exchange
Visit these “Growing Resilience Through Our Soils” information pages:
1. Podcast page for drought planning fact sheets, Q&As, news, podcasts, and more.
2. Video page to watch videos of other ranchers’ journeys toward improved rangeland/pasture.
3. Follow Growing Resilience on social media:
4. Our homepage: www.growingresiliencesd.com