Drought Removes Options. Planning Creates Them.
This year has revealed something important: the vulnerability of British and Irish grass farms to drought.
For many farmers, the consequences have been immediate: feeding conserved forage during the summer, losing second cuts and watching winter reserves disappear.
Drought removes the option to follow your plan
The biggest option drought removes is the ability to carry out the production plan you began the season with.
That forces choices you did not want to make:
Feed winter forage during the summer.
Buy additional forage or concentrates.
Sell livestock earlier than planned—or sell animals you intended to keep.
Drought replaces planned decisions with forced ones.
Planning creates resilience
How land is managed determines what happens when rain falls: whether it runs off, evaporates or soaks into the soil and remains available to plants and soil life.
Healthy soil, rich in organic matter, acts like a sponge. According to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, one additional percentage point of organic matter in the top six inches of soil can hold approximately 27,000 gallons more water per acre.
Planning—and working the plan—builds this reservoir beneath our feet, helping the land remain green and growing for longer when rain becomes scarce.
Resilience preserves choices
When the land stays green, the production plan stays alive. Animals continue growing from grass, winter forage remains protected, and farmers retain control over what to finish, carry or sell.
Resilient land gives farmers what drought removes: time and choice.
Our next Holistic Management Online Series begins on the 4th of September.
Learn how to grow a resilient landscape that keeps plants watered year-round and preserves more options when drought comes.
