HAY QUALITY

The quality of the hay is also impacted the longer it remains in the field.

First-cut hay, which is preferred by horse owners because it’s greener, moister and less dusty than later yields, is a cash crop for farmers.

But second-cut hay and subsequent hay crops have a higher nutrition value, which farmers store away for their cattle for winter.

The higher the protein content, the less commercially produced material the farmer has to add to the feed, which can save a significant amount of money, Lobdell said.

At the same time, lesser quality hay left standing too long has lower protein and requires more subsidizing to maintain the delicate nutritional balance that dairy cattle need, he said.

Weather across the region is expected to be warm and dry toward the end of the week, Lobdell said, which may get farmers back on track if they can find enough workers to help get the crop in.

CHALLENGING

Rouses Point farmer Henry Gooley said he is disappointed in the crop so far at his Hayford Road property.

“We haven’t had much of a season to do haying,” he said. “You can’t have the hay that wet.”

The longer farmers have to wait to cut, he said, the poorer the hay quality. That, in turn, causes the milk produced by the cows that eat the hay to also be of lesser quality.

Gooley hopes the excessive rain will decrease.

“We don’t have much control of the weather, but we’ll get through it.”