Dry Weather Increases Hay Demand For Kentucky Farmers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A drought in the Southeastern United States has heightened demand for hay.

The downside is that a double whammy of bad weather in Kentucky curtailed production. First it was an April freeze, then a dry spell that left farmers like David Glover with only a third of his normal grass hay yield and about half his usual alfalfa production.

Glover says he's gotten calls from everywhere. He delivered a tractor-trailer load of alfalfa to Tennessee yesterday, and planned to haul another load to Alabama today.

Fifty-five percent of Kentucky's hay crop was rated poor or very poor by a crop-reporting service.

The state Department of Agriculture is offering a toll-free "Hay Hotline" to connect buyers with sellers.

If you are in need of Hay please call 1-888-567-9589.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)