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Cattle Producers Invited To Complete Drought Survey

Montana State University Extension and a group of scientists who are studying drought impacts on Montana and Wyoming pasture and soil health are seeking feedback through a survey of beef cattle producers.

During the past few years, Montana and Wyoming have had record-setting droughts, and producers regularly altered management decisions to reduce drought impacts on pastures and cattle, said Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension beef cattle specialist and one of the researchers. Van Emon said the survey will help determine the predominant practices of beef cattle producers when preparing for and during drought.

The researchers have been studying single and multiyear drought impacts on pasture and soil health preand post-grazing. Part of this project aims to determine how beef cattle producers prepared for drought and how the drought impacted management decisions.

The research sites are located at the USDA Agricultural Research Service, or ARS, rangeland beef cattle research facility at Fort Keogh in Montana and Thunder Basin National Grasslands in Wyoming.

The voluntary survey, designed for Wyoming and Montana beef cattle producers, is estimated to take five to 10 minutes to complete. No identifiable information will be collected. The survey can be accessed at montana. qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ 0JMVf7QDUKJhkVg.

The information collected will be summarized in an Extension publication, and research findings will also be presented at research sites this summer.

In addition to Van Emon, the group of researchers includes Sally Koerner, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Kurt Reinhart, USDA ARS, Miles City; Lauren Porensky, USDA ARS, Fort Collins, Colorado; Kimberly Komatsu, UNC, Greensboro; and Kevin Wilcox, UNC, Greensboro.

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