When determining what and how to feed your animals during a drought, it is important to adequately assess the condition of the pasture. A more informed decision can then be made in terms of supplementing or resting that pasture.

Assessing pasture condition during drought must take into consideration the conditions and environment in which the pasture is grown. Normally we associate dry, dead pasture with drought, and quite often the limiting factor is not the actual quantity of feed available but the fact that the feed is of poor digestibility.

This Primefact discusses what constitutes high, medium or low pasture availability, and provides information on how to visually assess this availability.