Headed into winter, and looking forward to 2026, La Plata County ranchers have a lot on their minds.
What type of grass to seed in the face of extended drought conditions? Will the New World screwworm infiltrate the American cattle industry through Mexico? What to make of new rules for STD testing of bulls?
Those are some of the things they need to be thinking about in coming months, and were some of the topics discussed at the La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen Ranch Gathering on Nov. 17 at the Durango Public Library.
2025 was a dry year for Southwest Colorado – a trend that holds with the weather patterns from the past several decades. And those recurring drought conditions were at the root of presentations given by experts from the Colorado State University extension offices.
“We’re all dealing with changing climate and water,” said Emily Lockard, director and county agriculture specialist at CSU Extension in Montezuma County.
Lockard, whose presentation focused on irrigated pastures, emphasized the power of proactive pasture management.
Because water is the main limiting factor, a story as old as time for Colorado ranchers, pastures must be managed for resiliency, Lockard said. Heavy grazing weakens root systems and makes plants more vulnerable to drought and weed invasion.
Retta Bruegger, a regional specialist in range management, picked up with advice for those managing nonirrigated rangeland.
Bruegger emphasized that weather for 2026 is impossible to predict with confidence. Long-term National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlooks have limited accuracy in this region, where small, localized storms can dramatically shift conditions.
Instead, she urged producers to focus on what they do know: 2025 brought a poor spring and early-summer moisture pattern across much of the West, which likely affected grass vigor.
“We can’t predict next year’s weather, but we know what happened this year,” she said, urging ranchers to rest grasses after a tough season to preserve vigor.
On rangelands, where leaf growth drives root growth, dry springs limit the development of deep, robust root systems. Plants with reduced roots are less able to access water during drought and are more vulnerable to stress and mortality. Over time, repeated cycles of drought and heavy grazing can shift plant communities toward less desirable species.
Brewer noted that many producers across the Western Slope are already observing signs of long-term change. Since the early 2000s, Western Colorado has trended hotter and drier compared to the wetter decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Satellite-based tools like the Rangelands Analysis Platform show declining productivity in multiple Western Slope counties.
Even in wet years, some producers report that forage “just doesn’t carry cattle the way it used to,” Bruegger said.
Looking ahead to 2026, Bruegger encouraged producers to weigh these realities against their operational needs. If grasses took a hit in 2025, resting pastures next season – or at least shifting more grazing into dormant periods – could help maintain long-term productivity. She acknowledged the tension between ecological best practices and economic constraints: What’s best for the grass isn’t always what’s best for the business in the short term.
Drought planning is crucial for navigating drought, Bruegger said. A drought plan helps a ranching operation define business goals, evaluate risk and map out flexible responses before conditions worsen.
Besides pasture and range preparations, the cattlemen were also made aware of updates regarding viral illnesses by Kathy Whitman, the CSU extension veterinarian specialist.
While highly pathogenic avian influenza dealt a major blow to commercial poultry and dairy operations last year, research and vigilance have helped control outbreaks. More ominous is the advance of the New World screwworm from South America to the Texas border, and the ongoing challenge of trichomoniasis in cattle herds.
The larvae of the New World screwworm fly (maggots) are able to burrow into the flesh of living animals – and have a tendency to do as such with cattle.
“Unfortunately, in the past year, this disease has moved. Not only did it break through Panama, but it migrated clear up through Central America, and now is in Mexico,” Whitman said. “This is why the U.S. is so concerned.”
A Mexican feedlot only 70 miles from the Texas border was infected recently, putting the Agricultural community on high alert.
Until the outbreak is under control, a moratorium has been placed on livestock trade with countries south of the U.S border. However, Whitman recommended constant herd monitoring since free-roaming mule deer are not privy to arbitrary borders, and cross back and forth – a potential vessel for the spread of disease.
“If you have a maggot infestation for whatever reason, collect those and turn those into the state vet so that we can identify them and monitor,” she said. “If this comes into the country, these animals can be treated, but certainly this will have an impact on trade.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
