In 2023, many parts of the country saw record-breaking temperatures and struggled to adjust their agriculture and livestock operations to account for these changes, forcing some to list their ranches for sale. With water availability still a concern for landowners across the country, many ranchers have begun to look for ways to maximize their cattle operations in drought conditions.

During a recent episode of the National Land Podcast, ranch management specialist for Blue Ranch, Mike Turner shared some of his strategies for managing cattle herds in a drought and making the most of the water that’s already available. In 2023, the Blue Ranch was awarded the Outstanding Range Land Stewardship Award by the Texas Section of the Society of Ranch Management, and in 2024 they received the Texas Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship Award from the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

Here are a few ways that Turner has managed one of the most successful ranches in Texas!

Consolidating Herds for Better Forage Use

One way that Turner has lessened the overall impact of grazing on the land is by condensing multiple herds down to a single large herd. By doing this, he minimized the area impacted by the herd and maximized the forage available in that smaller area. This also trains the cattle to eat some of the less desirable species, as Turner explained.

He stated, “On big pastures with moderate numbers, cattle will cherry-pick what they want. One of the things we try to avoid is cattle overutilizing or underutilizing forage, so when we have a larger volume of cattle and smaller paddock sizes, they have to go in there and take a bite of everything that’s there.”

Rotating this larger herd around multiple different grazing sites gives the sites not currently in use a chance to recuperate and regenerate foliage depleted through grazing. This is especially important during drought conditions where the water needed to help these plant species regrow is in short supply.

Optimize Water Distribution

Water availability is always important when managing ranchland, but especially during a drought. Taking stock of how grazing areas are receiving water and working to improve the flow of water to these areas can make a world of difference in terms of overall resource consumption. 

Turner echoed this, explaining, “We’ve been able to utilize the forage that’s there and rotate those animals into a location where they normally wouldn’t spend a lot of time. Water is always your biggest Achilles heel in any ranching operation, but if you’ve got the water distributed correctly, you can utilize a lot of the stuff that’s already available there.”

He went on to describe that on the Blue Ranch, they employed a mix of live water sources, perennial creeks, and multiple holding facilities with water lines running strategically to grazing areas and water troughs for cattle. In drought conditions, it’s important for landowners to utilize every water source at their disposal but also have the infrastructure in place to supplement these natural sources as well.

Avoid Overgrazing

One of the biggest things landowners need to keep in mind when managing ranchland in drought conditions is the harm that overgrazing can do to their property. By allowing a herd to deplete the forage in a given grazing area fully, landowners can create more problems for themselves and their ranching operation later down the road. 

Landowners should carefully monitor the available forage in their grazing areas, since this leftover forage will aid in promoting new growth as well as holding water in the soil. Speaking to the benefits of not overgrazing forage areas, Turner stated, “My goal is not how much [forage] I take off an area, it’s how much I leave behind. I think for any operation to be successful, you’ve got to leave something behind for the next growing season. It’s the same thing with our water table. If we deplete that water table down to a point, it takes a long time for those things to recharge.”

“By year nine, we saw quite a bit of change from mid to short grass transitional prairie back to tallgrass prairie. I think it goes back to a better utilization of our water and maximizing our grazing. With a properly functioning water system with a water table, you shouldn’t have any runoff whatsoever because you should have biomass to capture what is there so it’ll infiltrate back into the water table. I think that’s part of the reason we’re seeing a lot more water utilization, we’ve got a lot more biomass left behind to capture the water that hits the ground.”

Through careful management and observation, ranchland owners can create successful grazing areas and foster healthy herds even in the dry conditions seen in many parts of the country. If you’re looking for ranches for sale or have questions about managing ranchland on your property, get in touch with your local Land Professional today!