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South Dakota Grassland Productivity Outlook

Below are the June 1 editions of the South Dakota Grassland Productivity Outlook maps produced using data from the South Dakota Drought Tool. These maps are also posted on the South Dakota NRCS Range and Drought Web page (https://bit.ly/SDGrasslands). The South Dakota Drought Tool utilizes a two-year weighted average of precipitation data to determine its percent of normal production calculation. The numbers are calibrated based on historical clipping data from across the state. This prediction only relates to grassland forage production (not so much cropland) and will not predict forage quality. Producers utilizing this map should consider local conditions when making decisions as the weather stations used to create the map are not equally spread out across the state.

The model weighs the precipitation received during the spring months more heavily than other months (these are our critical precipitation months). Having received lower-than-normal rain in April and much of May, we are seeing below average precipitation (and production) over much of South Dakota. Rain at the end of May did relieve a little bit of the drier conditions across the state but we are still looking at decreased forage production for much of the state. Producers are strongly encouraged to take inventory of their forage resources and determine courses of action as parts of South Dakota are projected to have below-normal precipitation and above average temperatures for the next 90 days (https://www.weather.gov/ffc/outlooks).

The following resources are also available:



SD NRCS Range and Drought page: https://bit.ly/SDGrasslands

National Drought Mitigation Center: https://drought.unl.edu/ranchplan/Monitor.aspx



National Integrated Drought Information System: https://drought.gov/

U.S. Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu

SDSU Extension Drought Resources: https://extension.sdstate.edu/drought

SD Growing Resilience Web page: https://bit.ly/GrowingResilience

SD Grazing Exchange: https://www.sdgrazingexchange.com/

 

 

–USDA NRCS


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