By Jessie Burchette and Holly Fesperman LeeSalisbury Post
Tractor-trailer loads of hay are rolling into the Piedmont Research Station almost daily.
The station on Sherrills Ford Road has become hay central for livestock producers with empty sheds, barren pastures and herds of hungry cattle and horses.
Piedmont is one of six N.C. Department of Agriculture stations serving as distribution points for the emergency hay-relief effort.
“We have more hay coming through this location than any of the others,” said Joe Hampton, superintendent of Piedmont Research Station.
Under the program, the Department of Agriculture is buying the hay and selling it at cost, including transportation.
Farmers are coming to buy the hay from a wide area of the state, from Surry County in the north to Union County in south. Catawba and Iredell farmers are also making repeat trips.
Hampton said the Salisbury location is in the center of the state’s livestock-producing area, generating more traffic here.
When the program started last month, farmers had to get on a waiting list.
“At one time, we had over 140 people on a waiting list,” Hampton said. “We’ve been able to get enough hay that we’ve gotten ahead of the demand.”
Now, farmers can usually pick up hay on the day they call.
On Thursday, Piedmont staff unloaded the 21st tractor-trailer load. The hay is coming from Florida and Arkansas, and even Canada.
Jean and Danny Cornatzer came from their farm near Advance in Davie County to take a look at the hay. They ended up buying one large bale and Jean said they’ll be back for more this week.
Jean said she’s been farming for at least 40 years and this is the worst drought she’s seen.
“Well we just didn’t have any grass because we didn’t have any rain and the temperature was so hot,” she said. “Actually, a lot of the pastures just looked like dust.”
The lack of grass forced the Cornatzers to start using the little hay they had in the summer to feed their 110 head of beef cattle. By September, their had exhausted their supply of hay.
“We had to buy corn where people had chopped up the stalks and baled it,” Jean said. “That’s all we could find.”
The Cornatzers saw an advertisement for the hay-relief effort in their local newspaper and decided to check it out.
“I think it’s a very good thing the government is doing, finding hay for us, because there’s just not any around here,” Jean said.
The Cornatzers anticipate getting feed for the cows from an outside source at least until March, she said. They might have hay then, if the drought eases.
If it does not, she said, “Well, for one thing we’ll just have to cut back on the head of cattle. That will help more than anything I know of.”
Currently at the Research Station, farmers can buy up to four large bales (square or round) or 40 small square bales of hay per day.
Prices vary slightly depending on the loads. Generally, the small bales weigh around 50 pounds and sell for $7 to $7.50 each.
Larger bales are priced per ton, generally costing between $60 and $80 per bale.
The quality of the hay also varies by the load. Generally the small bales area better for horses, while the larger bales are better for cattle.
“It’s good quality,” Hampton said. He added that while it’s not the best hay, “it’s going to be real good this year.”
The program is scheduled to continue through the winter.
Farmers wanting to buy hay need to contact the Piedmont Research Station at 704-278-2624.
“We want them to call in advance,” Hampton said. “We’re working not to have a waiting list.”
They must fill out an application and provide a N.C. Premise identification number. That’s to ensure that livestock producers get the hay instead of someone who wants to resell it.
Hampton said the station has the forms available and can help farmers fill them out in five minutes or so. Employees there can also help with the identification number, if a farmer doesn’t know his or doesn’t have a number.
The Department of Agriculture advises farmers who want a full load of hay to check the Hay Alert Web site at www.ncagr.com/hayalert. The site contains listings of people interested in buying and selling hay.
Producers who don’t have access to the internet may call 1-866-506-6222 and an operator will assist in searching the database.
Buyers can also apply for transportation cost-sharing funds of up to $500 per load and up to three loads of hay.
Across North Carolina, the state has ordered an estimated 960 tons of hay.
Contact Jessie Burchette at 704-797-4254 or jburchette@salisburypost.com or Holly Lee at 704-797-7683 or hlee@salisburypost.com.