Parched fields drastically cut farmers' hay yields

Monday,August 6, 2007

Parched fields drastically cut farmers' hay yields

By Keighla Schmidt
Leader-telegram Staff


Lack of rain, heat and dry soil have made life difficult for Chippewa Valley farmers growing hay to feed their animals.
"For a lot of people it causes a lot of stress, because of the uncertainty it causes," said Carl Duley, Buffalo County UW-Extension agriculture agent.
David and Dette Bischoff of Comstock, in western Barron County, felt that uncertainty and took drastic measures. In June they cut back from 40 to 20 dairy heifers after recognizing early in the season that they would be short of hay.
"It was a rain problem," David Bischoff said. "It was just a gut feeling; we decided we would be better off if we cut back."
After cutting their herd in half, the Bischoffs now have enough hay to last through spring. However, the Bischoffs, who have farmed for 10 years, will make a smaller profit from the dairy herd than they have in previous years.
Roy Anderson, 87, who lives off Highway P in the township of Lake Hallie, sells the hay he harvests from 100 acres each year typically to horse owners. His price is $2.25 a bale. This year there was much less to sell.
"The hay crop was short because of the dry weather," Anderson said.
Tim Jergenson, Barron County UW-Extension agriculture agent, said there has not been enough rain for the hay.
"It's a really, really dry period," Jergenson said.
Recently, farmers across Barron County harvested 50 percent of the hay they usually do during the second of three annual cuttings.
Some weekend rain helped the crop slightly, but overall conditions remain dry with many area counties still in severe drought, which also is affecting corn and other crops. The National Weather Service reported 0.19 inch of rain accumulated Saturday at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport.
"It's not enough to really put a dent in the drought," National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Freidlein said Sunday.
Jergenson agreed. "Everyone is happy about the rain; it just isn't enough. We can't go back in any way and recapture any of the hay we missed."
According to the National Weather Service, April-through-July precipitation is about 4 inches below average in Bloomer and 5.8 inches below average at the airport on Eau Claire's north side.
The below-average precipitation is a concern across the region. Eau Claire County UW-Extension Agriculture Agent Mahlon Peterson said the Eau Claire County outlook is even more grim. The second hay crop produced only one-tenth of an average year's harvest.
Peterson said farmers have options to compensate for the lack of rain. "In most cases they design rations to contain more corn silage or roughage," he said.
Peterson said the worst-case scenarios are reducing the herd size or buying feed at a higher price.
Some areas will harvest more than 200 bushels of hay per acre, and others will be as low as 20 bushels per acre, Peterson said.
"Rains have been very spotty," Peterson said of the situation coutywide.
Duley said drought conditions were similar in Buffalo County, where he said the second crop of hay cut recently produced 35 percent to 40 percent of what it would on an average year.
Duley said 1992 was the last time a drought was this widespread in Buffalo County.
Schmidt can be reached at 833-9203 or keighla.schmidt@ecpc.com.