Developing a drought strategy for beef cattle
Major droughts generally develop following a dry spring and failure of subsequent summer rains. Decisions need to be made as to what relief measures are necessary. Important factors are the time of the year, current water and pasture situation, the composition and body condition of the herd and financial resources available.
Management decisions
Careful consideration should be given to management effects on pastures and land condition as this is the primary resource.
Stock management is vital and the following measures are very important:
- looking after the pasture
- reduction in herd numbers through
- sale
- agistment
- strategic weaning of calves
- herd segregation
- parasite control
- opportunity feedlotting
- attention to water supplies
- finances
Looking after the pasture
The time taken for a pasture to fully recover from a drought will depend on the grazing management applied. Land condition and productivity recovery will depend on lighter stocking rates and regular wet season spelling of paddocks. It is important to monitor the feedbase, match the stocking rate to carrying capacity and be prepared to reduce stock numbers during extended dry periods.
Reduction in herd numbers
The longer all cattle remain on the property the worse feed and water supplies become and the harder it is on pastures, soil, livestock, finances, machinery and of course managers and families. It is important to establish some key trigger points or decision dates to respond early to poor seasons by moving or selling-down cattle to match stocking rates to pasture on hand.
Find out how to use decision dates in grazing management here.
Sale
Drought experience since 1965 shows the best motto is ‘Sell and regret; but sell’.
This does not mean selling the whole herd, but rather to sell normal sale stock and vulnerable animals (for example, aged and out of season calving cows). Timely and early selling can prevent selling on a market depressed due to large numbers of cattle being sold.
The aim is to preserve a core group of productive breeders and young stock to restore normal production quickly after the drought breaks. Calves and weaners under 12 months of age should only be sold, if necessary, as they are the cheapest group to hand feed. They are also next year’s income. It is important to do the sums to determine the best sale strategy during an extended dry period.
Cattle may require feeding to be brought to a saleable weight. Learn about the best strategy for planning and managing a supplementary feeding program here.
Agistment
Agistment can have many pitfalls. As a rule, the total cost of agistment is about twice the actual agistment cost. Depending on the property owner’s management skills and honesty cattle may be neglected and lost and costs usually increase as the drought progresses.
However, agistment can be a successful drought option if the necessary precautions are taken and graziers are aware of the pitfalls. To successfully agist your cattle during an extended dry period ensure you consider the following:
- Ensure you have a written contract outlining agistment conditions.
- Consider any husbandry problems that may occur through assessing the tick, weed, poisonous plant and disease status of the property, including any other cattle that are agisted there.
- Ensure cattle are vaccinated before being moved to the agistment property and are quarantined in yards upon return to avoid spread of weed seeds.
- Assess whether there’s enough feed at the agistment block and if there’s a chance you will need to move the stock again.
- Consider agisting dry stock rather than breeders due to the reduced monitoring requirements.
- Determine if the property is accredited for market access.
Strategic weaning
Weaning reduces a cow’s energy requirements by half and timely weaning can make the difference between being able to maintain breeders on a low-cost dry season protein supplement rather than high-cost energy feeding. Maintaining breeder body condition is critical to conception rates at the next mating.
Early weaning is a long established and effective management strategy as long as the weaners are fed appropriately and well managed. The smaller the animal, the higher the nutritional requirement will be. It is easiest to divide calves in groups based on weight and age for targeted supplementation and to reduce bullying by larger weaners.
To find out the right feed for each weaner group visit:
For more information on weaner management visit:
- A comprehensive guide to weaning calves early
- Weaning – a critical component of herd management
- Weaner management in northern beef herds (PDF, 2.8MB)
Herd segregation
In drought, breeders and young stock are unable to compete with strong dry cattle for either paddock or supplementary feed. Further, drought feeding is costly, and it is necessary to ensure that feeding is directed to the animals that require it the most. Segregating young and weak stock gives them a better chance to gain access to feed supplies.
Pregnancy testing is a useful tool to segregate cows based on when they will calve. This enables better management of those with the highest nutritional requirements. It can also reduce feeding costs as some groups may not need costly energy supplementation. Find out more about pregnancy testing here.
If pregnancy testing is not an option for your business, wet and dry segregation can be a useful, low-cost strategy for identifying and culling unproductive breeding animals. Find out more here: How to use wet and dry in continuously mated systems
Parasite control
Cattle under nutritional and other stress are less resistant to parasites than in normal conditions. Ticks, worms and lice can all cause problems in drought and parasite control may be needed to prevent cattle experiencing extra stress.
Opportunity feedlotting
Before feeding cattle, it is vital that producers assess whether they will profit after investing in the feed. Feeding is expensive and time consuming so the best option may be to sell the cattle.
There are two options for feeding cattle: 1. Contract fattening in feedlots or 2. Opportunity feeding on-property.
Contract fattening in feedlots is an option for producers who have assessed the benefits and costs of this.
Opportunity feeding on property is usually not viable because, unless the property is already a registered feedlot, the cattle will only be eligible for grassfed market prices when sold. Once again it is important to do the sums and assess the benefits vs the costs.
If on-property feeding is determined to be a viable option consider moving cattle to a confined space so the paddock condition doesn’t continue to decline. Read about fodder storage and containment feeding in this case study: Goal setting is the key to intentional action at Aqualoo (PDF, 455 KB)
Attention to water supplies
Boggy surface waters represent a death trap for drought-weakened cattle and the supply may become polluted. Producers should consider fencing off water holes and install tanks and troughs in preparation for drought so this can be avoided. If this is not possible then temporary fencing of water holes and equipping with a temporary pumping unit, tank and trough is a possibility.
Bores need to be checked regularly to ensure an adequate water supply, as levels recede in prolonged dry periods.
Salinity often increases with the lowering of underground supplies and the water may become too salty for stock. Upper limits of total soluble salts should not exceed 8500 ppm nor should the combined chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium exceed 1400 ppm.
Finances
What financial resources do you have available? Financial resources will have a major bearing on management decisions. Remember you not only have to survive the drought but also recover afterwards, when income may be reduced due to forced sales during the drought.
Are property management bonds available to you? Increasingly, producers will be expected to fund their own drought management programs. Property management bonds offer a scheme to do this. (Talk to your bank manager or financial adviser to find out how to take out these .)
Investing in such bonds in good seasons can prove worthwhile. Although they must be held for 12 months before they can be used, they can be an important part of a longer-term strategy to manage dry seasons and droughts. They can be transferred as part of an estate.