The new Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch website offers new tools to help land managers prepare for and respond to drought. 

The site is an update of the Ranch Planning section of the National Drought Mitigation Center website, drought.unl.edu. It builds upon efforts to provide land managers with a variety of resources to monitor drought, manage the ranch before and during drought, learn about assistance programs, and more. 

The geographic area in the “Monitor” section has now been expanded to include the Great Plains and West. Users can compare their state’s drought depiction to previous years’ conditions and view forage production projections. The Grass-Cast tool and newly-added Major Land Resource Area map provide forage production and the likelihood an area will receive precipitation. A new library of monitoring tools also helps land managers understand drought and its effects. 

The “Planning” section clearly outlines steps to develop a drought ranch plan on private, public, or Tribal land. This reorganization effort was based on work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Northwest, Northern Plains, and Southwest climate hubs.  It follows the “why” of developing a plan, laying the groundwork, identifying proactive practices, developing contingency plans and evaluating response efforts. 

 The site also includes drought management resources, webinar videos, and frequently asked questions. 

Learn more at https://ranchdrought.unl.edu/.  

Article by NDMC Communications.