Dry spell followed by severe weather could go either way for cool-season plantings
“Know your soil. If we're looking at a lot of surface runoff — if the ground's not going take it up, that would be something for concern.” — Jonathan Kubesch
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Oct. 15, 2025
Fast facts:
- October is prime time for planting cool-season forages
- National Weather Service noting possibility of severe weather on Saturday
Download related photos, filer of Kubesch
(350 words)
LITTLE ROCK — Several weeks of dry warm weather followed by potential severe weather this weekend could go either way for ranchers trying to get their cool-season annuals planted.
The National Weather Service at Little Rock said Tuesday that “confidence continues to increase for strong to severe t-storms on Saturday p.m. Primary hazards at this time are damaging winds and large hail, but a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out.”
The storms would follow several weeks of very dry weather. As of Oct. 9, more than 45 percent of Arkansas had some form of drought, with less than 20 percent of the state not having any drought, according to the Drought Monitor.
“The best time to get cool-season forages in is basically now,” said Jonathan Kubesch, extension forage specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “We're in our most reliable window for fall plantings.
“Dry weather has been a challenge for those cool-season plantings,” he said. “I personally planted annual ryegrass last weekend with the goal of catching a rain this week or next.
“For seed that’s already in the ground or seedlings coming up, this weekend might be the start or the end of things,” he said. “Earlier plantings may have worse odds than what’s been recently planted.
“We've left our window about mid-September, where we would have planted in the fall to get something this side of January,” Kubesch said. “ If we delay our planting, we're going to delay our grazing next spring,
“Now, everything that we’re going to seed now is something we’re going to start using toward the end of winter into next spring,” he said.
How severe weather might affect a newly seeded area will depend on local conditions, especially where the ground is so dry it might repel water instead of absorb it.
“Know your soil. If we're looking at a lot of surface runoff — if the ground's not going take it up, that would be something for concern,” Kubesch said. “But for a lot of us, it'd be good to have seed securely in the soil ahead of the rain.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu