Forage is easy to take for granted in a good year. The grass comes in, the cattle graze and producers roll through the season on rhythm and routine. But 2026 has not been that kind of year for much of the country — and for the regions hardest hit, National Forage Week is arriving as a timely reminder of just how critical healthy range and pasture land truly is.
“A lot of times I think we think of forage or pastures as just a place for cattle,” says Justin Hossfeld, National Sales Manager for Range and Pasture at Envu. “But on years like this year, we really understand the meaningfulness of it.”
Hossfeld spends much of his time on the road assessing conditions across the country. What he has seen this season is sobering: large portions of the Northern Plains have been extremely dry — some areas, he notes, that didn’t even green up this year. Pockets of the Pacific Northwest fared better with some timely rainfall, but the broader picture across the West and Central Plains is one of significant forage stress.
“It’s become very clear in the West, and even more to the Central Plains, that we’re going to have challenges having all the forage that we’re used to having,” he says.
Graze What’s There, Not What You Wish Was There
In a typical year, producers have the luxury of grazing by the calendar — moving through pastures according to a schedule that fits their workflow and operations. Hossfeld says that approach simply won’t work in 2026.
“On the wet years or the normal years, we have a lot of flexibility. We can kind of graze by the calendar,” he explains. “Well, this year, that’s not going to be the case. Now we’re going to have to graze at what’s being provided to us.”
That shift in mindset — from grazing by schedule to grazing by supply — is one of the most important adjustments producers can make right now. It starts, Hossfeld says, with honest assessment. Get out on the land and evaluate what you actually have. Then begin forecasting: given current conditions and weather trends, what is this pasture realistically going to produce? How do you set up your grazing strategy to match that reality?
Being proactive is the key word. Waiting until pastures are overgrazed to make management decisions is too late. The goal is to see the situation clearly, early, and act accordingly.
Stressed Pastures Open the Door for Invasive Species
One of the more insidious consequences of drought-stressed pastures is the opportunity it creates for invasive species to move in. Hossfeld describes it as an ecosystem battle — one that healthy native and perennial grasses are well-equipped to win, but stressed ones are not.
“When our perennial forage and our native species are there and they have all the resources they need, they are a good defense. They are a good way of holding invasives out,” Hossfeld says. “But when those species are stressed, that is certainly an opportunity for those invasives to move in.”
Invasive weeds are aggressive competitors. They steal the very nutrients, moisture, and space that desirable forage species need to survive — and in a year already defined by moisture scarcity, that competition hits especially hard. The problem can also be compounded by grazing decisions. When forage gets short and cattle over-select or graze areas too heavily, that pressure creates additional openings for invasives to establish and spread.
Hossfeld’s advice: don’t panic, but don’t ignore it either. Use this challenging season as a diagnostic. Identify where invasive species are hurting your operation the most, and start thinking about how to invest in protecting those areas going forward.
“We don’t take those out instantly,” he acknowledges, “but it’s a great time to understand where they’re hurting you the worst — and as you move forward, where do you invest in yourself, how do you manage risk, and how do you protect against that going into the future?”
Technology as a Silent Partner: RangeView from Envu
For producers trying to make the most of limited forage resources, Envu’s RangeView platform is designed to take some of the guesswork out of pasture management. Originally developed to complement invasive species management programs — helping producers understand the resource they recovered after weed control — RangeView has since expanded into a broader forage monitoring and decision-making tool.
At its core, the platform uses satellite imagery and a sophisticated algorithm to analyze what’s happening on the ground. It can detect weed species, map infestations, and monitor re-encroachment after treatment. But its newer modules go further, giving producers a clear picture of the forage quantity available in each pasture — and turning that data into actionable grazing intelligence.
“We can measure the amount of forage that’s in the pasture and allow you to forecast and know how many acres of this amount you have, which equals this many grazing days or this many animal units,” Hossfeld explains. “And then we can show you the removal over time.”
In practice, that means producers receive alerts when a pasture reaches key utilization thresholds — a heads-up to move cattle before overgrazing occurs. It’s the kind of real-time feedback that is hard to replicate through observation alone, especially across large or remote operations.
Over time, RangeView also generates grazing heat maps — a forensic look at how a pasture has been grazed across weeks, months, and seasons. That historical perspective helps producers identify inefficiencies: acres that are chronically under-grazed, areas where they may be leaving pounds of beef uncapitalized, and patterns that inform better decisions going forward.
“We don’t want it to replace you,” Hossfeld says. “We just want it to make you better informed and make you more productive. It’s that silent partner that you have with you to make your days more productive.”
A Difficult Year — and a Call to Stay Proactive
National Forage Week is a celebration, but in 2026 it carries a weight that feels appropriate to the moment. Across much of the West and Plains, producers are managing through real constraints — tighter forage supplies, greater risk of invasive encroachment, and the pressure to make every acre count.
Hossfeld’s message to those producers is straightforward: you’re not in it alone, and now is the time to get proactive. Assess your land honestly. Adjust your grazing strategy to match actual supply. Stay vigilant about invasive species pressure. And don’t wait for conditions to deteriorate before taking action.
“We’re here with you,” he says. “We understand what you’re up against. You have a precious resource, but it’s limited — and we know you’ll do a good job with it.”
For producers looking to learn more about Envu’s range and pasture programs, including RangeView, Hossfeld encourages reaching out directly or visiting https://www.us.envu.com/range-and-pasture/digital-ranch-management.
