Virginian cattle farmers adapt to the hot, dry weather

Montvale, Virginia – Farmers in the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas are having a hard time because of the hot and dry weather.

“We base on pasture management and grazing cattle 300 days out of the year,” said Johnny Divers of Chapel Creek Farms near Montvale. “Weather is one thing we can not control.”

Because dry fields can be bad for farming, people like Divers have had to change their plans. For Divers, this means moving the cows from one pasture to another and leaving some fields uncut. Divers also says that things that were planned and done in the spring, like limiting the number of cattle in some areas, are now paying off.

“We don’t overstock our pastures for this reason,” Divers said. “If you overstock in early spring, you can pretty much guarantee yourself that you will run out of pasture in the summertime if you go into any sort of a drought.”

Divers also says that leaving some fields alone helps the soil in those areas keep its moisture.

That will make them live longer and keep them healthy enough to graze later in the summer.

One thing to think about is pastures. Watering the herd is another one. Divers say that every cow can drink up to 40 gallons of water every day. When his cows are out in the field, he always makes sure they have two places to get water.