06/18/2026
Let's talk about farming and the weather. You can't have one without the other!
Weather, however, can have extremes. How farms prepare for and build resilience toward these extremes will have huge benefits to their success.
We only feed our herd growing grass in the pasture from April to November. We protect our soils and the health of our grass by only allowing our herd to stay in one spot for 12 hours (called residency). Then, we let that area rest (recover or grow back)for 45-90 days depending on weather conditions and plant health. This intensive method of managing not only our herd but our pastures builds our resiliency to weather extremes...and right now, it's a drought! This strategy also helps our plant roots to go deep and when it finally does decide to rain, rather than the water running off our land, our soils will act like a sponge. We may be farmers on the surface, but what we do and how we farm is science!
I have been monitoring our drought conditions and in just three weeks, NE CT has gone from Abnormally dry (D0) to Moderate Drought (D1). Some portions of our state have moved into Severe Drought (D2). You can monitor for yourself here: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?Northeast
