In his burnt-red 1978 Chevy Sierra Grande pickup, Jasper County farmer Ross Langmaid crosses Highway 14 on the way to his cattle pasture 6.5 miles north of Newton.

The old work truck jostles on its suspension as it travels over the dry, rough ground. Langmaid steps out and opens the steel gate to the enclosed field and cups his mouth with his hands as he calls the cows in from deep in the pasture.

“It’s dry. You have to dig quite a way to get to any real moisture,” he says as looks at the field’s surface conditions. “Usually the ground would be pretty wet.”