The drought’s been tough on farmers across the state, but the timing of the little rain the region received this past winter proved to be a plus for the sheep industry. Valley Public Radio’s Ezra David Romero reports.
Ryan Indart moves his herd of sheep around Fresno County to graze where grass is green.
He says the weather pattern from late 2014 to today has eased the effects of the drought on his herd. Rain in December and a foggy January kept moisture in the ground.
INDART: “As the spring starts to come on then that soil moisture provides that plant to be able to grow, so we have had actually really good feed from January all the way till now because of the early rain.”
Indart says he’s thankful for the moisture, because dry conditions this spring are turning his fields golden brown. In 2014 his herd suffered because he says it didn’t rain until February last year.
INDART: “Once the grass dries the feed quality, the nutritional quality decreases, but at least there’s still feed there. We are in a much better spot then we were last year.”
Even though the drought is rough on his other crops like cherries, when it comes to sheep he’s glad he only has to supplement their feed instead of finding a new source of food altogether.
