>>>Actually, Karen, I think the report that was shown in that post was from >>>last year - I know I saw it last summer. We are definitely on the mend >>>in the drought situation but our ground water levels are still not where >>>they should be.
Yes, but the ground water levels in the southeast are increasing, as are the reservoir levels. And, ground water levels don't have so much to do (at least not immediately) with the price of hay since very little of the hay grown in the southeast is irrigated, and that was the point of this video. Hay grown in the southeast is largely watered by rain. There are MANY other factors much more immediately affecting hay pricing, prices of horses at auction, etc. - things that we CAN talk about, and even take action on. It's much more productive to me to inform people that the closing of meat plants now means no guaranteed minimum on that horse or foal that they could previously and conveniently dump at auction, while totally denying to themselves that horse would be slaughtered. And we can actually educate ourselves on the REAL costs involved in the government subsidized production of ethanol. Most people would rather wring their hands helplessly over some vague "drought" than deal with unpleasant realities like these though. >>> There are some things we are just not going to be able to take for >>> granted any more but we'll adjust just like our ancestors have and there >>> will always be "the sky is falling" people out there. That's just it, the "sky is falling" folks make conditions worse by their dire, and often unfounded, speculations. In our area, and probably across the country, e-mails are flying this year predicting more hay shortages, increased hay prices, etc. and that's just not founded in fact - not yet anyway. A lot of these e-mails seem to originate from people with no long-standing backgrounds in farming, not people like me who realize rainy years and drought years have ALWAYS cycled. If buyers believe that, and horde hay, guess what? It increases demand, and that reduces supply artificially. Do you think hay farmers will voluntarily lower hay prices if they can get more? I don't think so, and I don't blame them. Karen Thomas, NC
