For generations, Saskatchewan’s Touchwood Hills have been cattle country, a place where rolling grasslands, sheltering aspen bluffs and dependable water shaped ranching livelihoods and rural communities.

The Hackley family is blending 160 years of ranching heritage with modern technology, refining the grazing practices their ancestors pioneered.

Winter has faded in the rearview mirror, yet the summer road ahead is dogged by one unwelcome word: drought. Or, at the very least, excessive dryness. On beef ranches in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, producers are also facing forecasts of an El Nino effect, which could worsen the conditions.

Across the Great Plains, farmers and ranchers are entering another summer under dry conditions, balancing feed costs, stocking rates and long-term pasture health while hoping for rain that may or may not come in time. For many, drought planning is no longer an occasional challenge, but rather a part of the business model.

Back in November, the USDA and the Department of the Interior announced a partnership promising something many Western cattle producers haven’t heard in years: more opportunity for grazing on public lands, not less.

Most of us grew up learning about the dangers of wildfire from a cartoon bear in a ranger hat, saying, “Only YOU can prevent wildfires.”

Graeme Finn could have been happy raising cattle anywhere in the world, so long as there was grass to graze and land to improve. He and his family ended up raising cattle, grazing grass and improving land in the foothill country of western Alberta near the town of Madden.

Resting a pasture for two growing seasons postburn is a common recommendation in the Intermountain West since at least the ’80s. “The question is, ‘Is there a real reason two full years rest are needed after fire?’” says University of Idaho (U of I) area extension range educator K. Scott Jensen. “Can it occur sooner than that without delay or harm to postfire recovery? We wanted to put some science to it.”