Tech Researcher Says Ranchers Should Plan Ahead to Save Drought-Stricken Range Land

A researcher for Texas Tech says ranchers need to start planning now if they want to save their range land from the lasting effects of drought.

Ron Sosebee, a professor emeritus with Tech's Department of Natural Resources Management says ranchers need to plot out how they plan to preserve the over 90 million acres already debilitated by this year’s drought. He says vegetation management and erosion prevention is key, so that when there is rain, it’s used to its full potential. Keeping cattle off suffering land is also more important for the ranch land’s long-term use and worth.

55 percent of Texas’s range land is under a drought. Crop and livestock losses have been estimated at a record $5.2 billion, and are still rising. AgriLife Extension Service economist David Anderson said livestock losses have totaled $2.1 billion. Most of the state has been in the two worst stages of drought since the beginning of May.