If you spend time around farmers or others who commonly work the land, you will often hear them discuss the fears of drought weather. These fears are warranted based on their goals and objectives for the land that they manage and in the way that they manage it. Often times, certain commodity crops like corn, soybeans, alfalfa, or simple cattle pastures planted in cool season, non-native grasses do not fare well in hot and dry conditions. Therefore, it is very understandable to know why they fear and despise the hot, dry weather.
However, as a land manager, hot and dry weather is not all bad. When managing your property appropriately, by promoting native species, oftentimes we find hot and dry weather simply promotes other species of vegetation and wildlife. A diverse property, that is managed to promote native species that are adapted to the climates in your given region, is suited to handle these conditions. Oftentimes, the felt stress of dry conditions is far less when a property is properly managed to promote native species. In addition, the dry, hot weather improves nesting opportunities for ground-nesting birds like bobwhite quail and wild turkeys.
It is incredibly important to understand your objectives and goals of your property in comparison to others. The phrase dry, hot weather being bad doesn't mean the same for land managers looking to promote native wildlife and plant communities on your property. Be sure to give this podcast a listen with an open mind and if you agree we encourage you to share the podcast. Thanks for listening!
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