With the current drought in the Dakotas, livestock producers should ponder how improving soil health can improve utilization of available moisture and mitigate the negative effects of dryness, says North Dakota State University Extension.

It’s certainly great to see how far soil-moisture profiles have come across the Great Plains over the past year. Looking at the U.S. Drought Monitor, you don’t see a sea of brown and red colors that the government uses to signify severe major drought problems.