On March 30^th I mentioned drought conditions in mid-Missouri. As the summer passed by, we grazed the pastures low in an effort to hold off on feeding hay and hoped for rain that didn’t come.  We also sold a few cows.  On September 24^th of last year, we started feeding hay.  We usually start feeding hay in January.  Now spring is here and we’ve had some timely rains.  Our pastures are growing and looking good, however they would be further along in growth if they had had more rest during the drought.  In hindsight, we should have let the grass rest more and fed hay earlier in one lot while the other lots rested.  What if the spring moisture hadn’t come?  When little forage is left for long amounts of time, such as drought conditions, the plant will stop growing to preserve its root energy.  If the plant’s root reserves are used up, it dies.  When this happens, there are no leaves to catch the rain when it finally does come and funnel it into the ground.  We could easily continue our own drought conditions due to a lapse in management.  Two thousand-eleven was the first year with such tough drought conditions since we implemented rotational grazing.  We’re still moving forward though, and 2012 is looking good.