A little more rain means a little better hay crop

Recent rainfall means a little relief for hay production in drought-stricken Greene County, but not much.

The key months for rainfall for hay crops are March, April, and May.

In Greene County during those months last spring, about 6 inches fell, according to the University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station Research and Education Center in Greeneville.

Compare that to the same time frame this spring: about eleven inches of rain.

As of July 31st, Greene County is still about 5 and a half inches short for the year.

Thursday, Greene County Extension Agent Milton Orr measured the nitrogen levels in Lori Holland's summer pasture crop. She has to feed her dairy cows something after the drought depleted her hay supply.

"We have used up our stockpiles now, so this year the situation is not so good for us," said Holland.

Spotty showers provide rain for some pastures but none for others. Orr said it is not enough to sustain growth for crops that become hay.

"The subsoil moisture is just almost non-existent," said Orr. "So if it stays dry for 7 to 10 days with 90-degree temperatures we're back to drought conditions."

Most farmers had a decent first cutting of spring hay in Greene County. It was a little better than last year, but dry weather means the second and third cuttings look iffy.

"We've got some folks that are going to do okay, and we've got some folks that won't have a second cutting at all, because they've had to graze it," said Orr.

Lori Holland will try to stretch what she has to feed her dairy cows, but she may end up buying hay from out of state.

"Last year we did have moisture in the ground, and this year we just don't," said Holland. "It's just something that I think is going to take years to recover from."

Bob Miller at the Research and Education Center said a freeze Easter weekend last year also impacted hay production. And because of high fertilizer prices this year, some farmers did not fertilize their hay. That plus lack of rain is driving down the amount of hay produced.