Here in Kansas we are facing our worst drought in 40 years. Making our lives difficult to say the least.
We are affected here on the homestead as in not being able to find hay to feed the animals. We are on our last bale. I have been searching for weeks. Last night Husband chased down a man with 7 bales on his truck. It was the last of his round bales, but he did have some squares left. Husband offered to buy out the remaining stock. He is going to count them and give us the price. (ie deal for buying it all out)
Please let it be enough to make it until our hay guys Tiffany grass comes in. If not, we will have no choice in the matter. We will have to start butchering out the cattle. We will not be able to sell them off as there is no hay available to feed them. No one but the slaughter houses will want them.
With no rain means brome and wheat will not grow.Wheat prices will increase. Not only that, but when it comes to prairie hay and brome, when it does come in we were told to expect to pay double and possibly triple for it. Prairie hay was $35 a round, brome $50 a bale. Now triple that and add in gas prices. Here's a paper bag, breath in it slowly.
By now we usually have the cows grazing. But no rain, means no grass. Our fields are almost barren.
So many fellow Kansas are happy that we have not had a severe storm season this year. Tornadoes are the price we seem to have to pay for the rain we so need. While east of us is dealing with flooding, we sit idly by and watch the dust storms brew up. It was so bad here the other day that I had to wear a bandanna over my mouth and nose to do the chores in 40 mph winds.
Please let us make it.
Here is some local coverage, and you can see for yourself how bad it really is.
14 comments:
I wish that I could blow you some of our rain, we're getting more later today *groans*.
We have plenty of hay here in TN. Husband has been trying to sell it so he can get ready to put in fresh hay.
We can't even get our garden planted because of the rains.
Aunt D.
Oh dear! Looks bad. The first time I'm seeing a farmland so vast and wide and without some trees or hedges. Looks like with a blow of a wind, it will take with it water vapour and even soil and sand. Could the way the land is managed that could improve this situation? Look at some farmlands in europe, there seems to be some hedges or trees or patterns of planting that breaks the wind currents. Also, nowadays, people are starting to mulch their own private farms. But could mulching be viable for commercial farms? Just a thought. Thanks for posting the video. May God bless these farmers and everyone to have enough food this year!
I wish you could too Rivenfae.
Aunt D. Want to come visit? ;)
Cotton woods are our main native trees here in Kansas. They grow fast, get diseased easily and fall easier. Cedar as well, beetles destroy them quickly. We are naturally a treeless land, with vast open prairies. Our farming practices changed after the dust bowl of the 1930's so that it would not happen again. Roosevelt had 200 million trees planted from Canada to Texas going straight through Kansas to prevent it from happening again.
Without rain, trees and shrubs do not grow.
The recent weather patterns are crazy. We're very dry in the coastal area of Georgia too. However, middle to north Georgia is getting slammed once a week. Of course you know that happened through central Alabama. My family and garden aren't in the dire situation that you are though. Hope y'all get some rain soon!
I am very sorry you are so dry. We on the other hand are having the tornado's and rains along with hot one day and really cold the next. Very strange and record breaking weather for us. I wish I could send you some hay. This years cuttings haven't started but plenty of last years hay still available everywhere. I apologize for no post yesterday. I had a guest poster that forgot to get her post to me. I have been overwhelmed with farm and garden as William has been working on homes hit by tornado's and gone from daylight till way after dark each day. Will try to get my shipping crate post on if I can find the camera. Hang in there and will pray you get that rain this weekend.
No worries Peggy. I understand.
I remember that fear of no hay...Montana was so dry for so long...couldn't feed anything, even if you had the money to pay...it just wasn't available. I lost everything.
I hope for rain for you and I hope after your scare the other day that you are getting some rest!
Down here people are buying hay for $50-70 for a round bale then hauling it a couple hundred miles and selling it for a nice profit, have been for a while now. Some of those trucks will hold about 30-35 bales, they have to be selling it for at least $100 per bale and they have buyers standing in line.
You would think someone would find a way to divert flood waters to drought regions by tanker trucks or something. Seems like it would save two areas at the same time.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for rain for you
Oh, I well remember the feeling, and I'm thankful I don't have to worry about it now.
The last time we went through this, people banded together and hired an 18 wheeler to go to whatever state had hay. Then they divided up the load he brought back. It cost them, but I think it saved some ranchers that year.
I hope you figure out a way to get through this.
I'll do a rain dance for you, sugar.
Meanwhile, I have a pepper sprout and am in a tizzy of delight over it. Yay (and thank you!!) for Thai Insanity Peppers!!
Shade and Sweetwater,
K
Wow, I had no idea it was so bad in Kansas right now, especially for this time of year. Hope the rains come soon and that you are able to find some hay.
Alex, a bit similar here, while the flint hills are getting rain, and everything east of us, we have received little. Western kansas has gotten nada.
Lisa, that's what I am worried about.
Bob, 2 yeas ago we had trouble finding hay because of the drought in Texas. It was being shipped down there and being bought up at a much higher price. looks like we are going to have to do that here.
FTM, I agree. Figure it out and you will get all kinds of money :D
Wren, horse neighbor is home from Iraq. We are doing something like that today.
K, please do. I was thinking about doing it myself.
Mr H. It shouldn't be this bad. This time of year we usually see flooding. But I a up for that weather trade. I will take all the rain/snow you can spare.
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