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Timely rains a gamechanger for cattle producer

Josh Worthington, a cattle producer in southwest Missouri, says the above normal, timely rains are a gamechanger this year.

“We’re usually always two weeks away from a drought and I heard someone say for the first time in my life last week they think we might be three weeks away from a drought,” he says.

The National Weather Service tells Brownfield there’s been three to five inches of rain in the last week for Dade County and above average rain the first six months of the year.

Worthington says the pastures and hay ground are green and while he hasn’t baled hay yet, wheat silage has done well.

“It’s the best we’ve ever done, not that we’ve been at it at long time, and the wheat was making about 10 tons to the acre. We’re going to have a lot of feed we’ll go through the winter to develop bulls and bred heifers with.”

Worthington also tells Brownfield “when you’re budgeting and you’re not having to bring in supplemental hay or thinking about needing to feed it as you’re baling it, it changes the line item on the budget. It also changes the quality of life for us and the cattle.”

He says fields will have to dry some before he can bale fescue and clover and sorghum sudan grass will be planted as soon as the weather allows.

Worthington raises seedstock Angus cattle, hay and wheat in Dade County, Missouri.