http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

v 2.4.3.0

Drought was intensifying in Oklahoma with 34 counties under burn bans. In Cotton County, a wheat grower dusted in his crop in early September. The hot weather in September and October stressed the small plants and some were dying. Stocker cattle would normally graze on the young wheat, but were being fed stockpiled forages and grasses instead. Other area cow/calf operators were also out of forage pasture for the year and were feeding stockpiled hay. The little existing grass that had not yet gone dormant was drought-stressed and could be high in nitrates, which are harmful to cattle health. Water sources need to be monitored for quality when drought dries up ponds. Producers were not restocking their cattle herds, and the Oklahoma cattle herd has been low over the past three years. Pastures and other resources have not yet recovered from previous drought as a new episode of drought gripped the state. Cattle numbers were so low that the dry conditions were not forcing ranchers to sell any additional cattle. Farm Progress (St. Charles, Ill.), Oct 31, 2024