Drought Makes Hay Shortage for WY Cattle Producers

By AP

Casper, WY – Wyoming's ongoing drought has created a
shortage of hay for cattle producers.
Scott Keith is livestock and forage program manager for the Wyoming Business Council. He says the long-term outlook for cattle producers in the state is not a very good picture.
Keith says hay farmers served by irrigation districts generally produced average yields this year. But he says that ranchers on smaller tributaries who produce hay for their own use saw yields drop by as much as 50 percent because of the lack of water.
Wyoming's North Platte Basin saw some of the driest conditions this year since record keeping started in 1895.
State Climatologist Steve Gray says that April through June this year was the driest of any comparable period in the basin since record keeping started in 1895.