Livestock Wx for March 12, 2018: Exceptional Drought and what to expect for the rest of spring

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SPONSORED CONTENT Livestock Wx for March 10, 2018: Exceptional Drought introduced in Oklahoma and Kansas and what to expect for the rest of spring
In last week’s release of the U.S. Drought Monitor (see image below), Exceptional Drought (D4) was introduced into northwest Oklahoma and southwest Kansas. This is the Drought Monitor’s highest drought category. Oklahoma counties in Exceptional Drought ­include Beaver, Harper, Woods, Alfalfa, Woodward, Major, and Ellis, while in Kansas; Clark, Comanche, Barber, and Harper counties were included in the highest drought classification.
This has important implications for livestock producers in those counties and qualifying for additional assistance through USDA’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
Breaking down conditions a bit further and looking at drought intensity vs. cattle density, we show counties across Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas that have a high risk of of further impacts from the drought.

As we move forward through spring and into summer we will continue to monitor these areas.
Expectations for Spring?
The North American Multi-Model Ensemble forecasts were issued last week. The forecasts indicate a strong signal for above-normal temperatures and for below-normal rainfall through June, especially over drought-stricken parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and western Kansas. The image below shows the precipitation forecast for April.

That’s it for this week. We feel like a broken record talking about drought yet again but it doesn’t look like it is going anywhere anytime soon. If you have any questions about conditions around Texas and Oklahoma please contact us at [email protected].