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Excess snow could help prevent winter kill, spark spring pasture growth

An extension specialist says the winter snowpack could be good news for cattle producers in drought-stricken areas of the Corn Belt.

Ben Beckman with the University of Nebraska says some areas have received almost 40 inches to help provide moisture to hay fields and pastures. “This isn’t a miracle cure necessarily.  Hopefully it’s a sign of precipitation to come.  We’ll still need moisture in the spring to bring things along.  If we really pushed pastures and hayfields really hard the past couple of years, it’s going to take time for things to recover.”

He tells Brownfield it will help prevent winter kill in alfalfa fields. “Having a layer on top to help insulate, even though it keeps things cold, it doesn’t allow for some of those bitter cold temperatures. When we start dropping down to zero or below zero, the snow helps as a layer of insulation.”

Beckman says the snowpack could help spur spring grass growth in pastures. “If that all melts fast and runs off and we’re not able to have that infiltrate soils, that doesn’t necessarily do us any good and cause problems.  But, if we have a more normal thaw, then we could capture some of that moisture.”

But, he says, snow drifts along shelter belts could take longer to melt and slow green up in many areas.