Finding hay for clients has been a challenge the past few weeks and looks as though it will continue to be a struggle. The drought circle is big so competition is keen and freight has become a huge factor. Ranchers are at their wits end trying to decide if they should buy high dollar hay or sell down and already sold down cow herd.
Get this, our neighbors to the North have a bumper hay crop and have had for several years. There in lies the problem. They haven't had a need to transport hay so consequently all the Canadian hay truckers have found other ways to make a living. Canadian hay raisers can't find trucks to move the product South. U.S. truckers are finding it difficult to get licensed and legal for crossing the border. Have they been quilty of taking business away from the folks up North? I think not.
But I do find it interesting that Billings, Montana can have the driest year in over 66 years and 250 miles North of us hay is in abundance yet we can't get it across the border where it is so badly needed. Wouldn't you know it, our congressmen are busy running for office while our trucks are standing still. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have cows starving on one side and hay rotting on the other side of an imaginary line when you're in the cow business.
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