Drought seminar planned for Ag Expo

Visitors attending the first day of the 15th annual New Mexico Ag Expo in Portales today can receive useful information on a common problem facing farmers and ranchers of the Southwest — drought.

New Mexico State University extension range management specialist Chris Allison will lead the seminar “Planning For the Next Drought” at 11 a.m. in the Yucca room of the Jake Lopez Community Center at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds.

“When a drought hits, everybody is in the same boat in trying to get through it and survive the best they can,” Allison said.

Allison has had 28 years of experience at NMSU’s extension range management office and plans to discuss what conditions constitute a drought, the variable nature of precipitation in the Southwest, how to stock accordingly while trying to keep the forage supply and demand in balance, and how to set priorities in stocking and restocking.

“New Mexico, West Texas and into Arizona, it seems like we’re in a drought about two-thirds of the time,” Allison said.

Roosevelt County extension agent Floyd McAlister agreed.

“This state probably has more dry years than we have wet years,” McAlister said. “We have so many dry years that (this information) is very important,” McAlister said.

“It’s something they need to consider and keep foremost in their minds.”

Allison will also be presenting drought historical statistics and records that go back more than 90 years.

“You always want to think that there is some kind of cycle going on here,” Allison said. “And there could be. It’s hard to say. We look back on the severity of droughts that we’ve had in the past compared to what we’ve got now, and how we handled those droughts with stocking decisions.”

Allison will also compare and contrast some of the worst droughts this region has seen.

For example, Allison said the drought of the 1950s, one of the worst in history, isn’t any worse than recent droughts of the 2000s, but the level of damage done to the range was much worse in the 1950s.

“People are doing a much better job (of range management during a drought) than they were,” Allison said.

Tuesday

8:30- New Mexico/Texas Peanut Production Workshop

Kakahuate Room

9:00- Expo and Exhibits open

10:00- Horse Demonstration

11:00- Planning for the Next Drought- Yucca Room

Spanish Dairy Seminar Series- Dairy Tent

Antique Tractor Parade- Midway

11:00 - 2:00- Chuck Wagon Lunch- Sheep Barn

12:00 - Dairy Seminar Series- Dairy Tent

1:30- Antique Tractor Games- North of Dairy Tent

Herbicide and Chemical Update- Yucca Room

2:00- Horse Demonstration- Show Arena

2:30- Cooking School-Fix It and Forget It Meals- Kakahuate Room

5:00 - Expo closes for the day

Wednesday

9:00- Expo opens for the day

10:00- Working Stock Dog Demonstration- Show Arena

Antique Tractor Games- North end of Dairy Tent

English Dairy Seminar Series- Dairy Tent

11:00- Antique Tractor Parade- Midway

Dairy Seminar Series

12:00- DFA Luncheon

1:00- Country Fashion Music Festival- Women’s Building

1:30- Working Stock Dog Demonstration- Show Arena

2:30- antique Tractor Parade- Midway

5:00- Expo closes

Yucca and Kakahuate Rooms are located inside the Jake Lopez Building