Ca. Hay Prices to Soar

Local horse owners are facing a serious hay shortage, and unfortunately many of them are not aware of it yet—unless they are running their own ranches or buying their own hay. The news is buried in the financial section of the newspapers and probably won’t hit the front pages until it’s critical. Our long, cold, rainy winter made the hills green and filled our lakes and rivers to the brim, but the excess also dealt a devastating blow to the state’s hay production. For local horse people, this will mean a strain on family budgets. For horse rescue operations, it is a crisis. Hay costs are rising significantly for three main reasons: • California’s unusually wet, cold winter and spring • The brutal drought and heat through the rest of the country • A growing trend for farmers to shift from hay production to government-subsidized corn for ethanol use...more

Horse owners, horse rescuers and cattlemen can thank the green gang and the D.C. Deep Thinkers for making a bad situation worse.