Hay Prices in Kentucky
Posted on September 29, 2007
In the Shelbyville Kentucky newspaper Sentinel News, on the front page it discusses that while the 1+ inch of rain that we recently received was helpful - it may be too late for a lot of farms in the Shelby County. Western Shelby County has received more rain than Eastern Shelby County.
Many farmers have been having to feed their horses and cattle hay since the middle of August - some 3+ months earlier than normal. This has caused the already low hay supply, and low yields this year to drive up prices and force some of the larger farms to bring in hay from other areas of the United States.
Currently, several horse farms in Kentucky are paying up to $9 a bale bringing in hay from Kansas, Nebraska and the upper Midwest due to the drought conditions and dwindling hay stocks. Normally, farmers can get 3-4 cuttings of hay from their fields. This year, most are only going to get one cutting.
Quite a shocker as under normal conditions, Kentucky has been one of the major hay suppliers for the other parts of the country. And now the shoe is on the other foot, and we are having to bring hay in from elsewhere.
I’m confident that this is a temporary measure and once we get into next year, things should stabilize if weather is “normal” and we can get some good cuttings early in the year. But expect it to be a long (and expensive) winter for many of the horse farms in Kentucky this year.
» Filed Under Kentucky Horse Farms and Real Estate Tips, Louisville KY, Our Horse Farm, Shelbyville KY
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