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For livestock managers, incorporating flexible stocking strategies with intrinsically high inter- and intra-annual variability in forage production is difficult due to enterprise-level and economic constraints. Adapting to climatic variability for livestock operations requires that adjustments in stocking strategies are made when temporally appropriate (both within and across years). Proactive and flexible stocking strategies should vary stocking rate with forage availability, as determined by using seasonal weather predictions to adjust stocking rate, and then carried out at the enterprise-level by incorporating yearlings into the livestock operation. However, a recent survey of Wyoming ranchers revealed than only 16% of livestock managers are using weather predictions to adjust stocking rate, even though this strategy has high potential to increase economic returns as well as provide flexibility for drought management. A new study in Northern Mixed-grass Prairie, at the USDA-ARS High Plains Grasslands Research Station is addressing the use of flexible stocking strategies for adapting to climatic variability. Developed relationships between spring (April + May + June) precipitation and forage production as used to determine annual stocking rates that vary across years though use of observed precipitation amounts and predicted (from Climate Prediction Center) seasonal forecasts. Stocking rates are estimated in early spring (April 1) using the predicted seasonal forecasts and then adjusted May 1 and June 1 using observed precipitation amounts plus updated seasonal forecasts. This flexible stocking strategy will be compared to set-stocking strategies across each year of light, moderate and heavy grazing to determine efficacy of livestock gain responses and economic returns.