Lake bed

Much of our pasture and planned grazing business is located in what can only be called a lake bed.  It is a large low area with little in the way of elevation change where, especially these last years, the soil stays wet to the top between rain events in much of the pasture.  It is the primary obstacle to increasing the production further.

As evidence of the trend we have at the edge of this area, close to the yard and livestock buildings, a twenty five year old hackberry tree that seems to be struggling.  I cannot diagnose the cause, but suspect overly wet conditions since six of the nine cottonwood trees we managed to start in the pasture twenty years ago look to be dying as well.  A cottonwood dying of too much moisture is a signal event. Cottonwoods love wet soil and prefer to grow there.  Evidently too much water is still too much even for cottonwoods. 

Trees tend to be difficult in a grassland.  This appears to be increasingly true with the overly wet conditions.  And it becomes apparent at the same time we see an increasing need for livestock shade because of the humidity.