 Wyoming's ranchers are a hearty bunch with standing difficult times by making tough management decisions. One of these decisions is managing during times of drought. Drought simply defined by the United States Geological Survey is a shortage of water and in Wyoming it is more common than years where water is abundant. Because of this, most ranchers enact plans that will allow them to stay in business during and after a drought. So what are these plans? Well, they may differ for every rancher. Some ranchers may sell the livestock that their land can no longer support because of grass shortages. When there are water shortages, plants are unable to produce as much forage as when there is abundant water. Others may choose to buy supplemental feed for their livestock, while some may retain ownership of their livestock but ship them to regions where there is plentiful feed. If ranchers do not prepare for drought, rangeland can become overgrazed and unhealthy. Once this occurs, the likelihood of ranchers turning a profit from livestock production is greatly reduced. The timely decisions that Wyoming ranchers make regarding drought will ensure that our rangelands are healthy and productive. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Rachel Meeler, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.