NDSU Extension hosts webinars to help ranchers navigate drought

Currently, 100% of North Dakota is experiencing some level of drought. The drought started in the fall of 2020, with many parts of the state experiencing one of the driest years on record. To aid ranchers in developing drought plans and navigate the ongoing drought, NDSU Extension specialists have been hosting webinars. The drought webinars hosted by NDSU Extension have provided timely information that increased participants’ knowledge of drought management strategies and assisted ranchers in the development of drought management plans and strategies for their ranches.

All of North Dakota is experiencing some level of drought. The drought started in the fall of 2020, with many parts of the state experiencing one of the driest years on record.

Extreme drought (D3) and exceptional drought (D4) classifications were assigned by the U.S. Drought Monitor on March 18 and May 20, respectively. This is the earliest these classifications have been assigned during the growing season since the inception of the U.S. Drought Monitor in 2000.

Having a plan in place, with well-defined trigger dates for implementing drought management strategies, helps ranchers endure the drought and minimize losses. The longer that ranchers wait to make management decisions, the fewer options are available and they face a greater risk of overgrazing, reduced livestock performance, the need to sell or cull more animals and greater economic losses. The objectives of the drought webinars hosted by NDSU Extension were to provide information on drought management strategies and assist ranchers in the development of drought management plans and strategies for their ranches.

In February 2021, NDSU Extension initiated a webinar series focused on preparing a ranch for drought. This series consisted of six sessions. The topics included were: drought trigger dates, grazing strategies, supplemental feed options, livestock water, herd management and managing stress during drought. The series was broadcast live to 140 people from four countries and 15 states, while the video has been viewed 1,236 times.

Due to ongoing drought conditions, NDSU Extension launched a monthly webinar series in May 2021. This webinar provides ranchers and land managers with drought outlooks and potential management strategies to consider as the drought progresses. To date, this series has been broadcast live to 45 people from three countries and seven states/provinces. In addition, the videos have been viewed 536 times.

Registration and polls were used to assess characteristics of the audience, intent to make changes and the potential impact of the webinars. In addition, data were collected to determine if changes were made by individuals who attended the planning series and registered for the navigating drought series.

The audience for both webinar series consisted of a broad range of attendees who included producers, Extension personnel and personnel from government agencies. Overall, participants indicated that the “Preparing for Drought” series increased their knowledge of the topics covered (Figure 1). The survey indicated that a total of 53 unique participants intended to make managements changes impacting more than 36,000 acres of grazing land and 6,000 head of livestock.

Figure 1. Participant rating of knowledge increase for the six sessions in the Preparing Your Ranch for Drought webinar series.

To date, 104 individuals have registered for the Navigating Drought on Your Ranch webinars, of which 28 attended the Preparing Your Ranch for Drought Series. During the planning series, seven (25%) of these individuals indicated they had a drought plan. Following the series, 8 (29%) additional participants implemented a drought plan (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Status of drought plans for individuals following participation in the Preparing Your Ranch for Drought webinars.

Currently, 100% of participants in the Navigating Drought on Your Ranch webinars have indicated that the webinars have increased their knowledge of the topics covered. In addition, eight unique participants intended to make changes impacting more than 30,570 acres of grazing land and 2,430 head of livestock.

The drought webinars hosted by NDSU Extension have provided timely information to aid ranchers in the development of drought management plans and strategies for their ranches. The recordings from these webinars are available at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnn8HanJ32l5O6GSBv5b2sdweInbmcn5T.

Thank you to all those who have presented or been panelists for these webinars, including Adnan Akyuz, Karl Hoppe, Nathan Spickler, Gerald Stokka, Janna Block, Lisa Pederson, Travis Hoffman, Sean Brotherson, Andrea Bowman, Charles Stoltenow, Philip Estepp, Becky Kopp-Dunham, Lilah Krebs, Zac Carlson, Ron Haugen and Tim Petry. Thank you to Linda Schuster and Scott Swanson for their technical support.