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Beef Cattle Drought Management Strategies
| Name | Lee Van Vlake | | Situation | The drought in the summer of 2007 devastated South Carolina beef cattle producers. Beef cattle producers in the Pee Dee Region were also hit hard by the drought. The region was 16-20 inches below their annual rainfall. There was a shortage of hay, nitrate problems, scarce winter annuals, and, yes, no rain. Beef cattle producers in the Pee Dee Region were looking for ways to deal with drought, avoid nitrate toxicity, use proper culling techniques, winter weed management, and different feeding strategies. | | Response | Lee Van Vlake coordinated a Beef Cattle meeting at the Horry County Extension Office in Conway, South Carolina. The sponsor for the program was Conway Feed and Garden. We had over 55 beef cattle producers attend. Speakers included Lee Van Vlake (Area Livestock Agent), Bruce Johnson (County Agent), and Tim Jackson (Purina Feeds). Lee Van Vlake spoke about proper culling, nitrate toxicity, winter annuals, fertilization if we have some rain, utilizing crop residues, and avoiding panic. Bruce Johnson spoke about winter weed control in pastures and how important it could be due to the drought causing unwanted weeds to come in due to thinned stands of forage or weed seed being shipped in with purchased hay. Tim Jackson spoke about some products Purina Feeds had that could be fed with crop residues and also some complete rations they offer. Lee Van Vlake also spoke to the Pee Dee Cattlemen's Association on Drought Management Strategies at the Dusty Hills Country Club in Marion, South Carolina, where there were over 60 beef cattle producers present. | | Impact | Over 100 people in attendance for the two drought management meetings. All participants expressed knowledge gained. At least 70 percent of the attendees found the program useful and would implement things learned back on the farm. Everyone in attendance expressed that the program was a success and learned the basic management strategies to deal with the drought. Overall, the drought management meetings were received as an asset to the cattlemen in the Pee Dee Region. Many producers present said they would take part in the adoption of some of the drought management practices discussed during the programs. The producers in the region expressed their gratitude to Clemson Extension for putting on programs that would help them deal with drought and make educated decisions on how they should deal with it. |
Last update5/23/2008
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