Missouri’s farmers and ranchers say they are grateful for any rain, but it will take a decent amount to regrow pasture, produce a decent hay crop and fill ponds.
“We’re talking 2 to 6 inches of rain, not a quarter inch.”
Matt Van Schyndel has cattle, sheep and goats in central Missouri. He says the pasture growth has not taken off like it usually does in the spring due to the cool, dry conditions and livestock have moved through the available pasture and a lot of hay ground.
“I ran my farm in 10 days. It usually takes me a month or a little longer at the beginning.”
Van Schyndel says the timing and quantity of moisture can make it more difficult to catch up on forage needs later in the season and he will likely be searching for hay.
“I think the price of hay this year will be so extremely high it will be very tough for any livestock producer to be able to make it.”
Gary Irwin, who raises several hundred head of cattle and crops in southwestern Missouri, says this spring has been a continuation of 2022. He describes the dry pasture conditions.
“You won’t see it other than you know the grass isn’t as far along as it needs to be, but if we don’t get any rain out of the next few days, we’ll start seeing pastures shrivel up and not grow back at all.”
Source: brownfieldagnews.com
Photo Credit: GettyImages-Zoran Zeremski
Categories: Missouri, Crops, Hay & Forage, Weather