Forage Production

The Forage Production team works to provide relevant resources and decision tools to support individuals seeking information about forage production considerations for a changing and variable climate.

 

Montana Mesonet

The Montana Climate Office (MCO) is leading the development of a cooperative statewide soil moisture and meteorological information system. It is designed to support decision-making in agriculture, range and forested watershed contexts.

Rangetek

This tool was developed and successfully tested in Eastern MT in the 1990s. It is the basis for a proto-type forage forecasting tool that is Montana based. It is based on the principle that forage production depends directly and proportionally on evapotranspiration (ET).

USDA/NRCS Grass-Cast

This tool is available now and is coproduced by NRCS & Colorado State University. Grass-Cast is an experimental grassland productivity forecast for livestock producers, NRCS, Extension and other rangeland managers. It is a new way to forecast your county's total biomass production, for the whole growing season, in the Northern Great Plains.