The Cost of a Drought

From the Publisher Dennis Sun

It has been a tough year for agriculture in our region, and the cost of this drought will linger for some time. 

I’ve always thought there are two kinds of drought – a hydrological drought and a forage drought – and the bad part is our region is currently affected by both.

A hydrological drought affects snowpack in the mountains and the amount of water in large storage reservoirs, creeks and streams and our range ponds and reservoirs. Really, it is all about the amount of water in these systems.

A forage drought is where there hasn’t been any precipitation – either snow or rain – for some time on the range and forage hasn’t been able to grow because the soil is really dry.

I’ve been planning on writing a column about the ongoing drought for a couple of weeks now, and here I am writing about drought on May 5 while southeastern Wyoming and northern Colorado are in a blizzard. Although one snow won’t fix this drought, it will help the forage grow.

One of the costs of a forage drought is ranchers will either have to buy hay to feed their livestock, find other pasture outside of the drought area or sell some of their livestock. All are expensive, especially finding hay to buy and getting it hauled to where they want it.

A large cost this past winter in southwestern Wyoming was having to haul water for those who winter sheep on the Red Desert. Normally, snow will provide enough water for sheep to last through the winter, but this year without any snow, water had to be hauled in. And besides the cost of transportation, hauling water in below freezing temperatures is always challenging.

This year, producers are selling some of their livestock which really hurts, as they have spent years improving their genetics to match their operation and because their animals know the country and where water is located.

If your area has been designated as a drought area and you have bought risk insurance, you might not be hurt as bad as others without it.

I have heard people say droughts in our area usually last around 30 years. While there may be some years which are not as bad as others, the accumulated effect has still taken its toll. In the past, some droughts have lasted 50 years. We hope this is not the case with this drought since, as droughts get longer, the costs get higher.

If the dry weather doesn’t change, it is going to be a tough summer. From lawns in town to the open ranges between these towns, the lack of water affects everyone.

The one thing we all know is we will get through this drought at some point. Then through the wet years, we’ll say, “A drought is always two weeks away in our region.”