Drought-Proof Your Farm: NDSU's Alternative Crop Guide
TL;DR: To mitigate drought impacts, evaluate existing crops for silage before planting fast-growing, alternative forages.
- Assess current crops for silage potential first.
- Plant drought-tolerant forages by mid-July.
- Consider winter grains for early spring forage.
- Test forage quality to balance livestock rations.
- Plan crop rotations to minimize drought risks.
Why it matters: Droughts threaten livestock feed supplies, making quick, informed crop decisions crucial for farm viability and animal welfare.
Do this next: Test your current alfalfa or corn crops for silage quality and crude protein levels.
Recommended for: Livestock producers and farmers experiencing drought conditions who need to quickly adapt their forage production strategies.
NDSU Agriculture outlines specific alternative crops and forages for drought conditions, emphasizing evaluation of existing crops first for silage potential, such as corn, alfalfa, red clover, trefoil, soybeans, peas, small grains, and grasses—test for quality to balance rations efficiently. For summer-seeded options (by July 15 if moisture allows), recommends Sudan, sorghum-sudan, forage sorghum, hybrid pearl millet, soybeans (mixed with sorghum-sudan), 70-day corn, brassicas (forage rape, turnips), millets (common, German, foxtail, Japanese), and buckwheat—all high-fiber, short-season crops. For next-year planning, spring grains like wheat, oats, or barley can be planted in August if moisture is available, harvestable until late October freeze. Winter rye, seeded in September, offers earliest spring forage (mid-May harvest); winter wheat provides higher yields but later (7-10 days after rye). Practical considerations include added labor/costs for new crops, no yield guarantees, and moisture needs for germination. Steps: assess current forages, seed alternatives timely, test quality, and plan ahead for winter/spring. These provide actionable, region-tested options to bridge feed gaps during droughts, helping livestock producers sustain operations with minimal new inputs.