Farmers seeking cure for hay headaches
Woes from spring freeze and months of drought add up
Thonline.com
By Jim Suhr
ST. LOUIS — On his southern Illinois spread, where some 450 cows look to him for food, the only thing that seems to be growing these days are Dale Moreland’s headaches over hay.
The 55-year-old cattleman, like others in the Midwest and beyond, has been hurt by a one-two punch of a spring freeze and months of drought. That combination has savaged hay crops and kept pastures from greening, forcing producers to tap hay stockpiles months earlier than usual.
The Beef Blog 