In spite of recent rains, about half of Montana is experiencing severe drought—meagre soil moisture, low water levels in ponds and streams, and wilting fields. Climate experts have said the state has been experiencing long-term drought and temperature conditions perhaps not seen in thousands of years. This includes warmer winters in many cases.
But these warmer winters may be of benefit to Montana’s ranchers–and specifically to their animals. According to a recent report from the Agricultural Research Service’s Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., three factors are at play:
- Calves born in March are older and larger and can therefore better utilize high-quality forage available in summer, compared to calves born in May, which relay on lower-quality foraged in the fall
- Warming winters results in a smaller risk of cold weather mortality
- Beginning of plant growth is shifting earlier in the Western United States. For example, frost free days are expected to increase from 24 days to 44 days per year by 2050.
“When calves are born earlier, they typically experience a better match between their nutrient requirements and the timing of protein and energy supplied by forage,” said Matthew Rinella, a research rangeland management specialist.
While the study doesn’t state if ranchers are birthing their calves earlier, it does point out how doing so is a hallmark of Montana agriculture: resilience. As the 2017 Montana Climate Assessment pointed out:
Social and economic resilience to withstand and adapt to variable conditions has always been a hallmark of Montana famers’ and livestock producers’ strategies for coping with climate variability.
