As Wyatt Montooth of Overton County says, “weather is your worst enemy when it comes to producing hay.” That couldn’t be truer for farmers across the Volunteer State this summer.
May went down as one of the wettest in recent memory, and June has seemed to follow suit. This has meant farmers have been late getting out into the hay field and have had to squeeze in any window of opportunity they can – all with the hopes that this hay season will be better than last.
“As long as it doesn’t do like last year, we’ll be good,” said Montooth. “We got one good cutting last year. It was overripe, but then when the rain cut out on us, that was the only cutting we had. And that was the biggest trouble.”
Montooth adds, “If you have to spend a little bit of your profit on hay, you cut into your bottom line.”
As so many farmers are and must be, Montooth is an eternal optimist. Despite the wet spring, he’s hopeful that despite the wet spring, their hay crop will do well this year. With more than 1.5 million acres of hay in Tennessee expected to be harvested, so are many farmers across the state.
“I think we’ll be in good shape. It’s beautiful right now, just as long as it hangs in there,” said Montooth.
