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Hay feeding starts earlier than normal for SW Iowa farmer

Drought-like conditions in August took a major toll on pastures in the Midwest, forcing many cattle producers to start feeding hay earlier than they normally would.

“We’re running out of pasture. We started feeding hay to one group of cows last week. Our pastures our basically gone,” says Duane Aistrope, who farms near Randolph in southwest Iowa.

He says they were able to get three good cuttings of alfalfa, but he’s not sure if there will be a fourth.

“We’ve had basically no rain since we cut it. We would like to get another cutting towards the end of September, if we could, but it may not happen. It depends on Mother Nature.”

Aistrope speculates that hay could be a valuable asset this year for those that have some for sale.