Drought Increases Hay Prices as Water Shortage Affects Farmers

Hay prices in middle Tennessee have hit record highs this year due to a poor crop because of the drought in the area. Normally, square baled hay in this area can be purchased anywhere from $2.00 per bale to $2.50 per bale. However, with demand as high as ever, and the supply becoming smaller and smaller as days progress the price has soared to as much as $5.00 per square bale. Many farmers in the area are left wondering if they will be able to find the hay to supply their livestock through the winter, and if they find it will they be able to pay the steep prices for what they do manage to find.

Couple that with the water restrictions being imposed on much of the area, and you can understand why farmers in the area seem to feel they are bearing the brunt of this drought. One local city has restricted the water usage for agricultural purposes to 50 percent of that used last year. They are giving permits to those operating with no other means of watering their livestock to allow them to use more than the 50 percent. However, even with the ability to water livestock remaining for the moment most are still losing significant amounts of money due to the fact that there are no provisions for watering crops. Which means their crops are left to wither and die in the fields with no rain in sight, and the inability to use irrigation systems due to water restrictions on the rise.

On speaking with local farmers the problem with the water remains consistent. Most have tanks set up to catch rainwater, and many have springs or ponds somewhere on their property that could normally be utilized. However, more and more are finding that their alternative water sources are no longer viable options as most ponds and springs have dried up, and since there has been little to no rainfall their rainwater tanks stand empty. This lack of water has created what is quickly turning into a crisis for many local farmers who depend on the year's hay crop to sustain their livestock through the winter months.

One of the local farmers I spoke with had these words on the subject, "If a person could afford to winter his cattle, I suspect the price will go up in the spring. It has too. Most of the people I know are going to have to sell off their livestock because they can't afford to feed them through the winter. So, what is a hay shortage now is going to turn into a beef shortage in spring."

I guess for many of these local farmers, all that they can do is hope for the rain to begin to fall. It is too late to help the hay shortage this year, but at least it would provide relief from the water shortage hammering the area. Maybe, for those who can hold on to their livestock throughout the winter, the prices of beef will rise as one farmer predicted in spring, and mark at least a partial recovery from the drought of 2007.