Land owners are reporting that the first cut of the year, which traditionally happens around Mother’s Day weekend, has been delayed week over week as wet conditions continue to make it impossible to gather the harvest. Fields are inundated with water and the needed drying time of a few days after the hay is cut has not materialized. April and May both broke records for wettest months and June is less than 2 inches from entering the top 10 wettest Junes on record.
Paige Barrett, Ag Agent with the Baxter County Extension Office, says last year’s drought delayed the season from starting and now all the precipitation has really caused problems with some fields behaving more like swamp land.
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A few problems with the hay can arise from the excess of rainfall including the leaching of sugars which in turn can create nutrient deficiencies for livestock. Another problem Barrett notes is the potential for the hay to become a fire hazard as the moisture evaporates in the coming summer heat.
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Barret says that it takes the perfect balance of conditions to have a successful growing season and unfortunately, mother nature is flipping from droughts to giving to much rain. The soggy start may also create issues later in the season for the fall cut.
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The University of Arkansas Baxter County Extension Office is located at 3 E 9th Street in Mountain Home and offers soil testing and other resources to area farmers and land owners.
For more information on how rainfall effects the hay harvest, visit https://www.uaex.uada.edu/publications/pdf/FSA-3090.pdf.
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