BROOKINGS — A series of fo-rums which began in mid-Janu-ary across the state hosted bythe South Dakota Department ofAgriculture (SDDA) and SDSU Ex-tension will continue throughMarch 21. The remaining 18 ses-sions will be held at area live-stock markets statewide todiscuss South Dakota’s vision forlivestock production.

“Agriculture is South Dakota’sNo. 1 industry, with the total eco-nomic impact of the ag sector of$21 Billion in 2010. Livestock is amajor contributor to the agricul-tural economy with the totalvalue of livestock alone being $3billion. Revenue generated fromlivestock and jobs that are cre-ated in processing and manufac-

turing of the livestock industryimpact the overall infrastructureand the economic health of thestate,” said B. Lynn Gordon,Cow/Calf Extension Field Special-ist.

Gordon adds that SouthDakota is fortunate to have ac-cess to the resources needed forlivestock production, such as ac-cess to land, water and feed re-sources as well as progressive,entrepreneurial people inter-ested in raising and developinglivestock.

“By combining these re-sources along with relevant re-search from the land grant

University of SDSU, South Dakotahas the ability to produce foodfor demands of the domestic andinternational markets,” Gordonsaid.

Agricultural producers are in-vited to attend these forums tojoin SDDA and SDSU Extension ina conversation about the oppor-tunities and challenges in live-stock production and the impactof agriculture to rural communi-ties and statewide revenues andinfrastructure. These meetingswill allow a dialogue about thenext generation of farmers andranchers.

Remaining area sessions and

their locations are:• Feb. 25 — Platte Livestock• March 6 — Yankton Live-

stock All sessions will take place at

6:30 p.m. local time except forthe Feb. 8 Watertown forumwhich will be held in conjunctionwith the Watertown Winter Showat 10:30 a.m.

For more information contactSarah Caslin, SDDA Livestock De-velopment Specialist at 605-773-3549; sarah.caslin@state.sd.us orB. Lynn Gordon, Cow/Calf Exten-sion Field Specialist at 605-782-3290, lynn.gordon@sdstate.edu.

Saturday, 2.16.13ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net

NEWS DEPARTMENT: news@yankton.net4 PRESS DAKOTANneighbors

To schedule an appointment

with Dr. Santos, call

(605) 328-3350 or

(800) 618-3186.

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We will be featuring our annual “Beautiful Baby Contest” in print and online on Wednesday, February 27, 2013.

If you or someone you know has a child we would love to include them in our feature!

To enter, simply submit your photo and entry form with a $10 submission fee by Monday, February 18 .

Category #___________ Age:_____________ Date of Birth______________________

Child’s Name___________________________________________________________________

Parents Name _________________________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________ Phone_________________________________ Winners will be selected by the staff of Yankton Media Inc. Employees and family members of Yankton Media Inc. are ineligible to win. *Submission of this form authorizes the publication of child’s photo in this contest in print and on line at www.yankton.net. Submission fee ($10) must accompany entry form to be valid.

Beautiful Baby Contest 2013 Submit Entry To: Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan 319 Walnut Street Yankton, SD 57078

Entry Deadline: Mon., Feb. 18, 2013

Chance To Win Prizes!

P RESS & D AKOTAN

First place winners in the following categories will receive a framed

winners print and prizes from the following sponsors: Photography by Jerry, LilyCrest and JCPenney.

1) 0-12 Months 2) 13-24 Months 3) 25 Months-3 Years 4) 4-7 Years 5) Multiple Births

BY RITA BRHELP&D Correspondent

The 2013 drought outlook:more of the same, which doesn’tbode well for livestock producers.

Mark Svoboda, climatologistwith the National Drought Mitiga-tion Center in Lincoln, Neb., saysthat more than half of the Lower48 is still affected by some form ofdrought, with the worst droughtrunning down the center of thenation from South Dakota throughnorthern Texas, seeping into west-ern Wyoming and Colorado.

The Yankton area — which isabout three inches short on an-nual precipitation — is includedin this exceptional drought, a darkred stain on the U.S. Drought Mon-itor Map.

“Spring is, unfortunately,where we’re putting our hope,”Svoboda said.

The damage has been pro-found and not just to the federaldeficit — 2012 ranked second onlyto 1998 as the most extremeweather year on record, with 11natural disasters costing at least$1 billion each, Svoboda said. Therecord books were also reset inNebraska, which shared the driestyear ever with Wyoming and thewarmest year ever with SouthDakota. Nationally, 2012 was thewarmest year on record for theU.S. and the driest year since1988.

Livestock owners have beenculling animals left and right sincelast summer, even dispersingwhole herds, as they ran out offeed. Pastures are sparse, hay isscarce, and grain is sky high inprice.

“Destocking is a difficult deci-sion,” said Lynn Myers, owner ofTippets-Myers Ranch in Lewellen,Neb. “It’s like losing a member ofthe family. It takes a lifetime toput a herd together that’s the bestfit for your operation.”

The nation’s cattle inventory isin trouble, Svoboda says. Approxi-mately 70 percent of the U.S. cowherd is situated in an area af-fected by drought, 14 percent inextreme drought. Additionally, ap-proximately 60 percent of domes-tic hay acreage is located in adrought area.

What this comes down to isthat there is little wiggle room forthe weather this year not to re-peat, or even exceed, 2012’s ex-treme conditions.

“Spring rains are critical,” Svo-boda said. “We do not have thatinsurance — that security blanket— we had going into 2012,” follow-

ing the wetter-than-normal year in2011.

Svoboda is not optimistic. Thisis not a drought that can be recov-ered from after just a year of nor-mal precipitation, or even severalyears, he says. And so far, thiswinter has been warmer and drierthan usual, not just here butthrough the Rockies, too, makingthe snowmelt forecast iffy. Long-range spring forecasts are typi-cally hard to pinpoint, as theweather becomes unsettledthrough the change of seasons,but so far, the predictions throughApril are a drier pattern, Svobodasays. All of these factors add upto a persistent drought.

“The grazing going on duringthe last half of the summer reallydidn’t impact those grasses at allbecause they were in drought dor-mancy, yet production will be 15-20 percent down in 2013 evenwith average rainfall,” said JerryVolesky, range and forage systemspecialist with the University ofNebraska’s West Central Researchand Extension Center in NorthPlatte, Neb.

The question is what produc-ers can do about it.

Volesky has created a droughtplanning process available free ofcharge at

http://drought.unl.edu/ranchplan.The Drought Management Planconsists of eight steps:

1. Identifying partners in plan-ning, whether family members orbusiness partners or financial ad-visors, and establishing lines ofcommunication.

2. Writing a vision for theranch and setting objectives inline with that vision.

3. Understanding the ranch’sstrengths, weaknesses, opportuni-ties, and threats during drought.

4. Making an inventory ofranch resources, from precipita-tion averages and pasture acreageto livestock numbers and watersources.

5. Setting critical dates basedon forage growth for making deci-sions regarding drought manage-ment.

6. Monitoring the schedule ofcritical dates.

7. Creating management strate-gies before, during, and afterdrought.

8. Periodically reviewing andadjusting the drought plan.

The Drought Management Planrequires producers to form a ho-listic plan of action regardingtheir ranch, covering everythingfrom financial and human re-sources to natural resources. It

means producers need to get toknow what is normal for theirranch and what is the best courseof action if the ranch’s inventoryis not up to par on certain calen-dar dates, Volesky says.

There is more to a droughtthan a lack of soil moisture, headds. Producers also have to real-ize that the previous year’s condi-tions, temperature extremes,carryover grass, longer termweather forecast models, andmore play a part in their droughtmanagement decisions, andVolesky’s Drought ManagementPlan ensures that producers takeall of these factors into considera-tion.

Myers is one of the producersVolesky took into consideration inmaking the Drought ManagementPlan, which is based off producerswho have successfully survivedmultiple long-term droughts.

“What I really think producersneed to do is try to keep yourplans as flexible as you can but beproactive,” Myers said.

He recommends developingthe livestock operation withdrought in mind. Myers has beenmanaging his operation based offa drought management plan foryears, which can be used as atemplate for other difficult man-agement situations, as well, suchas winter storms or bottom-dollarmarket prices.

Myers explains that he has aPlan A, B, and C for every year,whether in drought or not. Forthis year, Myers is running onecow for every 20 acres of range-land. In his best-case scenario, hewill be able to maintain 300 cowsand 200 yearlings at this stockingrate. At various critical datesthroughout the year — April 1 intime for spring growth, June 1 forthe switch from cool-season towarm-season grasses — after con-tinuously monitoring the condi-tions on the ranch, Myersreferences his written droughtmanagement plan as to whatstrategy to put in place when cer-tain thresholds have been met.Strategies can include reducingstocking rates, weaning early,culling cows, moving cows torented rangeland elsewhere, hold-ing calves at a nearby feedlot, andso on and would need to be putinto action by the previously de-cided dates of May 1 and Sept. 1to keep on top of the situation.

Some producers will be turnedoff from the level of planning thatthe Drought Management Plan re-quires, and Myers recognizes that,saying that it doesn’t have to be aformula as much as an approachto management.

“If you take care of the land,the land will take care of your cat-tle, and your cattle will take careof you,” Myers said.

Dry Times, Hard Choices

Environmental Training Session For CAFOs Set BROOKINGS — An environmental training session for operators of Con-

centrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), is set for Feb. 19 in Huron.Specialists from South Dakota State University, the South Dakota De-

partment of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Natural Re-sources Conservation Service (NRCS) are offering the training.

This training fulfills the environmental and manure-management train-ing requirement to obtain a livestock permit for CAFOs from the SouthDakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Producers and any other interested individuals who are not currentlyapplying for a permit also can benefit from the information and are encour-aged to attend. Current federal (EPA, USDA) and state water pollution con-trol programs encourage livestock producers, even those who do not needpermits, to voluntarily adopt livestock production and manure manage-ment practices that protect air and water quality.

Certified Crop Advisor credits are also available for attending this pro-gram.

During the morning session, Erin Cortus, SDSU Extension Environmen-tal Quality Engineer will discuss water quality. John Lentz, Resource Con-servationist with the NRCS, will talk about implementing conservationpractices to improve sustainability. Jason Roggow, a natural resources en-gineer with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Re-sources, will give an overview of the South Dakota DENR Livestock Permitprogram.

In the afternoon, Jeff Hemenway, Soil Quality Specialist with NRCS willdiscuss managing nitrogen and phosphorus in land applications of manure.Lentz and Hemenway will also go through nutrient management planningworksheets. Bob Thaler, SDSU Extension Swine Specialist will lead a ses-sion on livestock nutrition options for reducing nitrogen and phosphoruscontent of manure. Cortus will conclude the day’s training with a sessionon air quality and odor.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Crossroads Convention Center,100 Fourth St. S.W. in Huron. The cost includes lunch, breaks, and trainingmaterials. The program begins at 8:50 a.m. and concludes at approximately4:45 p.m.

To register for the training, call Candy Willms at (605) 688-5141. The next training program will be held in July.

Drought Risk Webinar Series Continues BROOKINGS — As producers across the state make plans for the

spring, one thing that remains in the back of their mind is the need formoisture to improve the drought conditions that have tightened theirgrip over the winter months, says Kalyn Waters SDSU ExtensionCow/Calf Field Specialist.

"Spring is right around the corner, and it does not seem as thoughthe winter has helped lessen the hold the drought has on the GreatPlains. While everyone remains optimistic, we must also be proactive,"Waters said.

In an effort to be proactive, the SDSU Extension Livestock staff havepartnered with University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension to host a five-part webinar series with the focus of helping ranchers across the stateprepare for the possibility of the drought continuing in 2013. This seriesof meetings is titled "Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch."

"UNL Extension and the Drought Mitigation Center have done an out-standing job putting together this program. They have slated some ofthe best speakers available to provide critical information to producers.The first meeting proved that these are quality, applicable meetings thatproducers will gain greatly from," Waters said.

These meetings are also intended to educate professionals and con-sultants who work with ranchers as a professional development series.

The webinars will be presented the last Wednesday of each month.The next meeting will be Feb. 27 and they will conclude in May. One-hourwebinars will begin at 9 a.m. MST or 10 a.m. CST at the SDSU ExtensionRegional Centers. Each session will include current drought updates andforecasts and presentations about specific information or tools. Follow-ing each webinar, the regional centers will join together via video confer-ence for a question and answer session, with SDSU Extension Specialistspresenting additional information relevant to South Dakota producers.

Topics each month will consider drought planning information andtools available to producers.

In addition to university and Extension presenters, a number ofranchers will also be featured, describing development and execution oftheir drought plans.

The second meeting of this series will be held on Feb. 27. This meet-ing will focus on critical dates in more detail. Dwayne Rice, RangelandManagement Specialist for NRCS in Lincoln, Kans., has worked with TedAlexander, a Barber County rancher, to develop procedures to identifyand describe critical dates and suggest how appropriate action steps areplanned.

Rice will explain how relationships between historical records andforage growth are used to delineate critical dates. Alexander will discusshis experience in implementing his drought plan through several previ-ous drought cycles.

These meetings are sponsored by the National Drought MitigationCenter at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The series was developedwith support from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education(SARE) program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture— National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).

For more information please visit www.igrow.org contact your near-est SDSU Extension Regional Center or call Waters at 605-842-1267 orPete Bauman, SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist at 605-882-5140.

PHOTO: METRO GRAPHICS

Tough DroughtOutlook May HaveImpact Livestock

Decisions

Livestock Production Forum Series Slated For Area