Arizona fires, hay costs crippling ranchers

Surging hay prices, an enduring drought and now wildfires in eastern and southern Arizona have left many ranchers hard-pressed to feed their livestock. Ranchers paid $110 to $130 for a ton of alfalfa hay in January, but by May were forking out $215 to $240, according to Steve Manheimer, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Barbara Marks, who with her husband owns Marks WY Bar Ranch in Blue in eastern Arizona, was feeling the pinch before the Wallow Fire broke out in May. "It's been difficult to find hay to purchase, and with all the expenses, we were just hard- pressed to afford it," said Marks, who had to evacuate more than 150 head of livestock from grazing land threatened by the biggest fire in the history of the state...more