Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

WWA/NIDIS Webinar: Decision making in the face of drought by western range livestock producers

Wednesday May 31 2017 @ 10:00 am

May

31

Wed

2017

10:00 am

Event Type
Seminar
Availability

Open to Public

Audience
  • CIRES employees
  • CU Boulder employees
  • NOAA employees
  • Science collaborators
  • Host
    Earth Lab

    William R. Travis and Trisha Shrum
    Western Water Assessment and Earth Lab
    University of Colorado Boulder
    Ranchers make a large number of time-sensitive decisions each year and can vary their choices in the face of drought throughout the production cycle.  Ranchers’ drought decisions may also be affected by USDA’s new Pasture Rangeland and Forest insurance program, a rainfall-index product meant to compensate for added feed costs during drought.
    We use multiple ranch decision models to simulate the effectiveness of drought adaptations under different rainfall and forage conditions, and with or without range insurance.  The results include annual profit and end-of-year net worth after drought responses on a typical Great Plains-Rocky Mountain cow/calf ranch. The simulations illuminate the role of adaptation costs, insurance, and drought early warning in the decision-making process. We also examine alternative drought indices and the effect of drought on cattle markets, both of which feed back to rancher decisions.
    This webinar will:
    Review resource decisions in the face of drought, focusing on range livestock production
    Examine decision models available to ranchers
    Demonstrate new ranching decision models developed especially for drought, incorporating climate information and the role of range insurance
    Discuss next steps in the use of drought early warning in range and other resource sectors