Lower hay prices help ranchers cope with drought impact
Ching Lee
California Farm Bureau
Scattered across the parched, brown hillsides of Alameda County in Livermore, rancher Dan Marciel’s cattle scrounge for any last trace of forage left on the pasture as he pulls bales of hay from his pickup.
Hay has been a precious commodity in recent years due to soaring costs. Many California ranchers have had to forego purchasing hay, opting instead to shrink their herds when the state’s drought-ravaged rangeland left little on the ground for cattle to eat.
The Beef Blog 