GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) There’s an old weather adage that’s been passed over cups of coffee and glasses of beer for nearly a century: “It’s not a drought ’til it breaks your heart.” Today, the hearts of thousands of Montanans have broken across the bare back of one of one of the worst droughts in Montana history: farmers trying to balance their books after a paltry harvest, stockmen paying too much to feed already skinny cattle, outfitters and fishermen prevented from landing a fish because the streams were either too warm or too dry, conservationists and recreationists of all types who watched Montana’s forests burn and its prairies shrivel.
Ranchers affected by recent fires in South Dakota and surrounding states may have more questions than answers about how long they should wait before grazing pastures again. Long standing protocols suggest two growing seasons, but is that sufficient with current drought concerns? What plant health parameters should producers be looking for to make the best management decisions during the upcoming grazing season?
While pastures look particularly bleak in the aftermath of the recent Windy Fire in Adams County, North Dakota and Perkins County, South Dakota, the good news is that rangeland plants are highly resilient after a fire.
South Dakota State University Extension Rangeland Management Specialist Alexander Smart says that the bottom line from a range plant perspective is that a fire does not harm the plant itself.