About six months ago I wrote an article about getting through the winter with short water supplies. I did not expect the problem to persist as long as it has. Many areas of northern Missouri have not had significant runoff since last July.
Many ponds are nearly dry, and the remaining water is stale and of poor quality.
A lot of us in the business of grazing livestock are looking for alternative water sources. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers for many producers. This is a case where long-term solutions may be more obvious than immediate ones. Building a new pond or renovating an old one may help next year, but will not get your cows through the summer. The same may apply to drilling a well or developing a spring.