Drought conditions have impacted grazing resources across North Dakota this year, creating challenges for ranchers. As the grazing season has progressed, drought has expanded to cover 64% of the state and continues to intensify.

Management decisions made now and in the aftermath of the drought can have long-term impacts on grazing resources. Grazing management decisions will directly influence the ability of rangelands and pastures to recover from drought and can increase a ranch's drought resilience.

North Dakota State University Extension specialists say ranchers should have a grazing management plan in place that includes the possibility of drought continuing into the 2027 growing season.

“It is critical that every rancher has a grazing plan in place with well-defined triggers and actions for drought and other disturbances so they can respond quickly and build resilience,” says Miranda Meehan, NDSU Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist.

Grazing this fall will be driven by late-season precipitation and species composition of rangelands and pastures. If the pasture comprises tame grass species such as brome grass or Kentucky bluegrass, there should be no long-term negative impacts from grazing this fall, as long as pastures are not overgrazed.

Late-season precipitation will create the opportunity for regrowth of native grasses that were grazed before reaching the reproductive stage.

“If grazing native range this fall, be careful to monitor utilization and avoid overgrazing to protect tiller development of cool-season grasses,” says Meehan.

As a general rule of thumb, grasses should not be grazed below the second node, which is located between the first and second leaves.

Tillers are used by plants to initiate growth in the spring. Fall droughts either prevent buds from breaking dormancy, thus preventing new tiller growth, or cause the death of those tillers that did grow. If a tiller is lost due to drought stress or grazing, the plant will need to develop a new tiller in the spring, delaying grass growth and development.

Meehan recommends that ranchers avoid grazing pastures that received heavy use this grazing season to allow them to recover. The stress of drought, in combination with overuse, can have long-term impacts on rangeland.

“As we look forward to the 2027 grazing season, pastures will require special care next spring to help them recover from the drought,” says Kevin Sedivec, NDSU Extension rangeland management specialist, emphasizing that ranchers should be prepared for a delay in grass growth and development.

NDSU Extension specialists have observed delays of up to three weeks in grazing readiness for introduced cool-season species and four weeks for native cool-season species following drought.

“While it may be tempting to start grazing early due to limited forage resources, it can have long-term impacts on forage production and plant health,” says Sedivec.

Regardless of grass species, grazing before plants reach the appropriate stage of growth for grazing readiness reduces herbage production by as much as 60%. Pastures and range grazing too early may take several years of deferment or even rest before the stand regains productivity.

Allowing pasture and rangeland to recover this fall or next spring will improve these grazing resources’ ability to recover from the drought.

“Even though there are many unknowns looking toward the 2027 grazing season, now is the time to evaluate your grazing system to determine how to increase management flexibility and resilience of your grazing resources and ranch,” says Sedivec.

Sedivec says a grazing system should be planned around the available grazing resources to achieve optimal forage and livestock production. Grazing systems that include both cool- and warm-season plants have greater resilience. Having a diversity of cool- and warm-season grasses helps reduce susceptibility to drought, ensuring some level of forage growth regardless of precipitation timing.

Integrating annual forages provides opportunities to extend the grazing system earlier in the spring and later in the fall. These additional forage options provide for greater flexibility in management, reducing the stress of early grazing and/or overutilization on pastures.

To read more about recovering from a dry 2026 growing season, visit ndsu.ag/drought-graze26.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Aug. 14, 2026

Source: Miranda Meehan, 701-219-9251, miranda.meehan@ndsu.edu

Source: Kevin Sedivec, 701-799-4689, kevin.sedivec@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu