http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/07/26/community/doc5010bc2f484e9852145676.txt

 

Area Hay Yields Take Hit From Drought

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

With the drought and excessive heat never seeming to end, farmers in the region continue to take a big hit. Not only are yields of corn, soybeans and other crops down, hay yields are down as well.

Rich Schwartz, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Yankton, said farmers could likely be around 40 percent of their normal hay yield if the hot and dry conditions persist.

Some pastures across the region are doing well, but Wagner notes that pastures in the Yankton area are not so fortunate.

“Pastures in the area are in tough shape right now,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult for them to improve if farmers don’t get rain soon.”

Schwartz added, “It’s not a pretty picture right now. The drought is having a huge negative impact on farmers.”

Second alfalfa cuttings in South Dakota were at 83 percent for the week ending July 22, and 79 percent for the week ending July 15. This is above the 49 percent from last year, and also above the five-year average which is at 53 percent. Third cuttings of alfalfa for last week were at 22 percent, well above last years zero percent and the five-year average of just one percent.

In response to the drought, Gov. Dennis Daugaard activated the state drought task force to monitor the worsening drought conditions throughout South Dakota.

The task force helps to coordinate the exchange of drought information among government agencies, and agriculture, fire and water-supply organizations. The group will also monitor the impact that the drought is having on the economy in South Dakota.

“We can’t change the weather, but we can give people access to information,” Daugaard said.

Jim Bye, of Bye Brothers Hay and Seed in Gayville, said the quality of hay they are producing has been good, despite the drought and heat.

“What we’ve produced has been good quality so far,” he said. “Although our yield amount might be down, our first cutting was just as good as you can dream of.”

He added that this year’s drought is not worse than it was in 1988, and the worst drought that he has experienced in South Dakota came in 1976.

“Things have dried up quicker this year than they did in 1976,” Bye said. “However, we do have a lot better corn now than we did back then.”

Bye added that some farmers in the area have gone up to Canada to bale hay because they have gotten a good amount of rain up there.

“It’s been like a gold rush up there because they’ve gotten rain,” he said.

The next cutting of hay will be coming up for the Bye’s, which would be their fourth cutting this year.

“We’re hoping for about a half-ton off of that cutting,” he said. “But it’s already starting to bloom, and once it starts blooming, it will also stop growing.”

Cuttings of hay in South Dakota were at 90 percent the week ending July 22, and 84 percent for the week ending July 15. This is above last year’s total of 71 percent, and also above the five-year average of 76 percent.

Gary Freeburg, of the Freeburg Hay Company in Gayville, said his hay has also been of good quality, but expects his yields to be down significantly this year.

“We’ve had two really nice cuttings,” he said. “However, we will be down probably by at least one-third of what our yields usually are.”

He noted Freeburg Hay typically produces about 5.5 to 6.5 tons of hay each year, and that total is predicted to be in the four to five ton range.

“Despite the drought, we are really trying to service our customers here within reason,” he added.

Freeburg said that he experienced the droughts in 1976 and 1988 in the state and said this has been as dry as he’s seen the area since that time.

In spite of the excessive heat and dry conditions, he said that the demand for hay has been very high.

“Our phone here doesn’t stop ringing,” Freeburg said. “We have been able to meet the demands of our customers, despite the lower yields.”

He added that some rain would really help a lot, but things are not a total disaster yet and he still has high hopes for getting in two more cuttings of hay this year.

Daugaard said the areas in Yankton, Vermillion and Sioux Falls had never had a drier month in their history than what they experienced last month.

“It makes it even more damaging when you combine the drought with hot temperatures,” he said. “Some ranchers are regretting the sale of hay from last year.”

Daugaard added there is still some hope that the FSA might open up wetlands in the region for haying and grazing.

“This is a very serious drought problem, but we still have some hope here,” he said.

Freeburg noted crop insurance allows farmers to hang on, and that folks in cattle will likely take the biggest hit from the drought because beef prices are down from where they normally are.

Bye added, despite the good quality of hay being produced, farmers still need to watch out for bugs getting into hay. When bugs bite hay, it becomes poisonous to alfalfa, causing it to stop growing.

“We really can’t do a heck of a lot during the drought and heat,” Bye said. “The only thing we can do is hope for the best and pray a lot.”