As many are aware, and many experienced, extreme weather devastated the southeast region last fall. These storms caused significant loss of life and billions of dollars in damages. As we reflect on these losses and look ahead to future extreme weather events, we need to consider the resiliency of our operations.
Some questions that I have pondered over the last few months include; how reliant is a flock on outside resources? How adapted are livestock to their environment? If you were shut off from the world for a week, would you and your flock survive? What about for two weeks? A month? As I consider these questions, a few main thoughts come to mind.
Feed and water resources are vital for the flock. Water is often taken for granted but what if you lose power for an extended period of time and your well pump doesn’t work? Streams, rivers, or ponds may need to be used as a water supply. Consider retaining water from roof runoff using 55-gallon drums plumbed into your downspouts. Forage resources should also be considered. Stocking rate, the number of animal units on your farm for a certain period of time, should not exceed the carrying capacity and slightly understocking may provide additional resiliency in challenging years. Far too often, farms are overstocked, forage resources are depleted for extended periods of time, and animal, plant, and soil health suffer as a result. Excess stockpiled forage provides a safety net to ensure your livestock will have feed available, even if a drought or other extreme weather event compromises resources. Further, that stockpiled forage will improve water retention, minimize runoff, and protect soil microbes allowing your farm to recover quicker. If your farm is prone to flooding, ensure this stockpile is on higher or sloped ground. Pasture loss was significant in low-lying areas during Hurricane Helene, not to mention the loss of fencing infrastructure in these areas that prevented grazing.
While fresh forage resources are ideal, excess hay stores can provide additional resiliency. Instead of just making or buying enough hay for a single season, store some extra. This will ensure you aren’t reliant on your own hay ground or your neighbors when a drought sets in. Store this hay on high ground, ideally under roof, and as protected as possible from extreme weather. Thousands of pounds of hay floated down rivers during Helene.
Temporary fencing and water systems allow you to adapt on a day-by-day basis. Portable, solar-powered energizers and poly-wire or poly-net can be invaluable in preparing for, and responding to an extreme weather event. We routinely run cattle behind one strand of poly-wire and sheep behind 2-3 strands. Temporary electric fence allows for stockpiling and improvements to soil and plant health. It allows improvements to forage utilization to prepare for and weather droughts and it can become semi-permanent fence until permanent infrastructure can be repaired/replaced when severe weather strikes. There were many requests for this type of infrastructure after Helene as permanent fences were destroyed. Make sure your livestock are trained to this temporary electric fence before a weather event occurs.
Your livestock should also be adapted to your environment. They should be able to utilize and convert forage resources to growth, milk, fetal development, and body condition. Reliance on excessive grain resources to maintain animal performance adds dependency that may not always be available. It requires vehicles to transport, labor to handle, and infrastructure to store. Not to mention, the competition for use by other industries and added input costs.
Your livestock should also be as resistant as possible to health challenges. What if your permanent fences are destroyed and sheep need to be confined to a sacrifice area for an extended period of time increasing exposure to parasites? What if drought results in grazing forages closer to the ground than typically desired? Your sheep need to be able to fight through these tough conditions. Opportunities to select for sheep with improved parasite resistance and immune fitness will add a layer of resiliency when faced with unfavorable conditions. Selection based on the fecal egg count EBV and new data from Dr. Bowdridge’s lab on IgG variation provide optimism that we can breed sheep more adapted and prepared for these events.
Finally, are you so connected to your livestock that you can’t let them go? An operation that is able to adjust stocking rate based on environmental conditions is far more resilient than one that has a fixed stocking rate. This reduces reliance on harvested feeds, infrastructure, and labor. Consider which sheep in the flock can leave if conditions change and it becomes detrimental to continue running the same stocking rate.
Extreme weather events will continue to take place. Sustainability of our operations and the food supply chain will be dependent on our ability to learn and adapt, improving the resiliency of our land and livestock, and ensuring we are prepared to weather the next storm.
By: Andrew Weaver, Ph.D., NCSU Small Ruminant Specialist
