By Staff
Gov. Mike Easley can’t make it rain, but he is trying to help farmers and not hurt taxpayers.
This week the governor presented a plan that would provide $3.5 million to get hay for farmers who need help feeding cattle and horses. The drought that has impacted drinking water supplies has also put a dent in the amount of feed that is produced in North Carolina. If farmers can find hay, they will likely pay a lot more for it, and that could force some to cull their herds.
The $3.5 million, which was approved by the Council of State, isn’t a bailout. If it works right, it will be a break-even proposition for state taxpayers.
City residents may not think about it, but it takes a lot of hay to feed a herd. A horse can eat a ton of hay a month. Pitt County farmers estimate they need between 1,000 and 3,000 bales to make it through the winter. Wilkes County farmers, on the other hand, will need more than 50,000 bales. Easley’s idea is that farmers would pay the direct costs of the hay, so the state would eventually be reimbursed for its spending.
The statewide drought left fields dry and farmers without the hay harvests they would normally have had to make sure cattle and horses are fed through the winter. It was estimated that the state needs about 100,000 rolls of hay at a cost of about $30 per roll.
Late this summer, hay production was predicted to be 897,000 tons, a 45-percent drop from last year, according to the governor’s office.
States like Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin are major hay producers. The issue is hay is bulky and transportation, with fuel prices at $3 a gallon, is expensive.
Golden LEAF recognizes that. The foundation, which was formed with money from a tobacco settlement, has provided the $500,000 grant to help with the transportation of hay and forage. Unlike Easley’s program, the Golden LEAF grant tries to keep the dollars here at home. It’s only good for transporting hay from a North Carolina location to a North Carolina farmer.
Easley’s plan would work with agencies, including the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety and the state’s Department of Agriculture, to find the most cost-effective ways to locate the hay and get it to the state. That includes exploring the use of the National Guard.
On Aug. 24, Easley asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 85 of North Carolina’s 100 counties disaster areas because of a 30-percent or greater loss of at least one significant crop. On Sept. 14, the federal Agriculture Department designated 96 counties, including 11 counties contiguous to the 85 counties Easley sought help for, as disaster areas. The declaration allowed farmers in those counties to apply for low-interest emergency loans.
At a hearing in October, Easley told Congress that some crop yields are the lowest in 50 years. The problem we face is a real one, and so is Easley’s solution to the hay shortage.