Managing pastures is key in any cattle operation, but it’s especially important after this year’s hot, dry conditions.

That’s according to Trevor Lennox, a regional forage specialist with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture.

"It can be the second year of a dry series of years that can be the harder one to manage," he said. "I know this year we have lived a lot of the soil moisture to grow our forage crop, next year we may not have that. It's just to remind people to pay attention to how they manage the grasslands."

Farmers and ranchers are hoping to see some decent moisture this winter to help replenish the soil moisture after this year’s conditions.

He has some tips for producers in managing pastures after a drought.

"One of the keys to a manager that can adapt and manage through dry conditions is having a flexible herd composition," he said. "Meaning that you have more yearlings, as to just having a straight cow-calf operation.

Lennox added that there are different ways people can build some more flexibility into their operation by culling a little bit heavier due to limited feeds, also weening a little earlier as well, just trying to decrease that demand on the feed source as well.