Rains Help Out Pasture and Rangeland Conditions

Within the last week or so, many areas of the Pacific Northwest have been experiencing rain. This moisture has really helped green up some of the region's pasture and rangeland. USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey shares.

Rippey: "We've seen the first of the fall storm of the year moving in to the Northwest. So we saw pasture and range rated good to excellent jumping from 34 to 50 percent in Washington state for the week ending September 22nd."

Idaho had 35 percent of its pasture and range rated poor to very poor and 38 percent good to excellent. Oregon's pasture and range had 46 percent rated poor to very poor and a mere 18 percent rated good to excellent.

Rippey shares the overall statistics for the nation.

Rippey: "Not a whole lot of change. We see the percent of pasture and rangeland rated poor to very poor 36 percent that is down from one point from a week ago. At the same time pasture and range rated good to excellent holding steady at 34 percent."

Rippey says that unlike most years

Rippey: "As we move towards the end of September, we're seeing still more than 80 percent of the pasture and range rated good to excellent in several Eastern states -- including Maine, New Jersey, West Virginia and Florida. That is almost unheard to see such green conditions during a time of year when we typically see our brownest grass before the fall rains move in."