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Early-summer drought, heat wave stressing cattle and farmers
Farmers and cattle alike have been suffering from this summer’s early heat wave and drought, and recent spotty rains have come as a welcome relief for some.
Much more rain is needed to get through the summer, producers said.
“I had to work in it, so the heat wave was really rough,” said Channing Snoddy, president of the Fluvanna County Farm Bureau. “I was out in those 103-degree days, and I was sick as a dog a couple of days later. It gets right rough, and of course it takes a toll on the cattle. When it gets that hot, they’re stressed and they stop eating. There’s nothing in the pastures for them to eat anyway.”
Topsoil moisture ratings continued to plummet last week across Virginia, according to the state office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. For the week ending July 11, 90 percent of the state reported topsoil moisture levels as very short or short. Snoddy said his pastures are dormant.
“They’re right dry and brittle. I’ve been feeding hay probably the last two weeks.”
Across the Old Dominion, the story is the same. A significant part of the state’s corn crop is already destroyed, soybeans are struggling to survive and many tobacco and vegetable growers are irrigating their crops to keep them alive. The NASS report said many streams and creeks have little or no water in them, and producers are beginning to haul water for their livestock. Almost everyone is already feeding hay instead of relying on pastures for their cattle.
“The corn crop has perished,” reported Jim Tate, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in Hanover County. “With no rain and oven-like conditions … most corn plants have no ears.”
In Frederick County, “ponds are drying up; producers are starting to feed their livestock. Some are selling their livestock due to lack of pasture, hay and water,” said Extension agent Jeannette Smith.
“Conditions are still dry and hot,” reported Middlesex County Extension agent David Moore. “Corn is going down this week. Yields have been hurt by 50 percent to 60 percent. … Soybeans are holding their own, but some are trying to bloom and need rain.”
The next step for many cattle producers will be buying hay, Snoddy said.
“If people aren’t buying it, they might want to start buying it. Because I expect the price of hay will quickly jump. I have regular customers that I’ll try to keep my prices down for,” he said.
“I’m only getting about half the hay I usually harvest. … There won’t be a second cutting. It would be a waste of time to run the equipment over it.”
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