Because drought impacts are accelerating due to climate change, drought preparedness on western rangelands matters now more than ever. Range professionals perceive, however, that many Utah ranchers remain ill-equipped for drought. The main research objective was to determine why ranchers often don't adopt recommended drought-mitigation tactics. Another objective was to clarify how grazing is managed during drought on federal lands. Fourteen tactics studied included management of water, forage, herds, and finances and access to information and government programs. Data collection included surveys of 429 ranchers and interviews of seven federal employees. Data analysis used descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results indicated that 3,133 non-adoption decisions were heavily dominated by the perceived incompatibility between tactics and operational needs; producer situations may often be misunderstood by experts. Weather forecasting tools were typically regarded by ranchers as “too complex,” while Extension information was often viewed as “not useful.” Factors promoting drought preparedness included having a strong livestock-business orientation or a drought-planning mentality. Factors hindering drought preparedness were dominated by advancing rancher age. Grazing permittees benefit from federal drought early-warning systems, yet herd adjustments on allotments were rare during the 2019 drought, pushing forage utilization to the limits. While challenges appear daunting, there are opportunities to enhance drought preparedness, prominently including creative efforts to promote more education and mentoring on operational drought management. Comprehensive, user-friendly drought websites remain rare, yet they can be vital hubs for stakeholders. Such websites must meet diverse communication needs including a greater focus on information requirements of seniors. Drought policies for ranchers should: (1) Eliminate perverse incentives that foster inappropriate risk taking; (2) reward pro-active, risk-management behaviors; and (3) facilitate recruitment of a younger, innovative cohort of new producers. Updating federal management plans could support grazing adjustments that incorporate more grass banking. Unified drought-response guidelines could harmonize agency approaches.

由于气候变化导致干旱影响加剧，因此西部牧场的干旱准备比以往任何时候都更加重要。但是，牧场专业人士认为，许多犹他州的牧场主仍然没有足够的干旱装备。主要研究目标是确定牧场主为什么经常不采用推荐的缓解干旱策略。另一个目标是阐明在联邦土地干旱期间如何管理放牧。研究的十四种策略包括水，草料，牧群和财务的管理以及获取信息和政府计划的方法。数据收集包括对429位牧场主的调查和对七名联邦雇员的访谈。数据分析使用描述性统计和逻辑回归。结果表明3，133项不采用的决定在很大程度上被认为是战术与业务需求之间的不兼容性；生产者的情况可能经常被专家误解。牧场主通常将天气预报工具视为“过于复杂”，而扩展信息通常被视为“无用”。促进备灾的因素包括具有强烈的畜牧业取向或规划干旱的思想。牧场主年龄的增长是阻碍干旱准备的因素。放牧许可证持有人受益于联邦干旱预警系统，但在2019年干旱期间很少进行配给的牧群调整，从而将草料利用推向了极限。尽管挑战似乎令人生畏，但仍有机会增强抗旱能力，突出地包括创造性的努力，以促进对干旱管理的更多教育和指导。全面，用户友好的干旱网站仍然很少，但它们可以成为利益相关者的重要枢纽。这样的网站必须满足多样化的交流需求，包括更加关注老年人的信息需求。牧场主的干旱政策应：（1）消除有害的冒险行为；（二）奖励积极主动的风险管理行为；（3）促进招募年轻，创新的新生产者。更新联邦管理计划可以支持放牧调整，其中包括更多的草库。统一的干旱应对准则可以协调机构的做法。用户友好型干旱网站仍然很少，但它们可以成为利益相关者的重要枢纽。这样的网站必须满足多样化的交流需求，包括更加关注老年人的信息需求。牧场主的干旱政策应：（1）消除有害的冒险行为；（二）奖励积极主动的风险管理行为；（3）促进招募年轻，创新的新生产者。更新联邦管理计划可以支持放牧调整，其中包括更多的草库。统一的干旱应对准则可以协调机构的做法。用户友好型干旱网站仍然很少，但它们可以成为利益相关者的重要枢纽。这样的网站必须满足多样化的交流需求，包括更加关注老年人的信息需求。牧场主的干旱政策应：（1）消除有害的冒险行为；（二）奖励积极主动的风险管理行为；（3）促进招募年轻，创新的新生产者。更新联邦管理计划可以支持放牧调整，其中包括更多的草库。统一的干旱应对准则可以协调机构的做法。（1）消除有害的冒险行为；（二）奖励积极主动的风险管理行为；（3）促进招募年轻，创新的新生产者。更新联邦管理计划可以支持放牧调整，其中包括更多的草库。统一的干旱应对准则可以协调机构的做法。（1）消除有害的冒险行为；（二）奖励积极主动的风险管理行为；（3）促进招募年轻，创新的新生产者。更新联邦管理计划可以支持放牧调整，其中包括更多的草库。统一的干旱应对准则可以协调机构的做法。