The ongoing drought in north central Arkansas is continuing to cause problems for area farmers. From the lack of hay production forcing them to have to buy hay from out of the area to ponds going dry, it’s hitting some farmers hard in their pocket books.
Local farmer Lyn Cotter, who raises beef cattle in eastern Baxter County and also teaches math at Pinkston Middle School in Mountain Home, says there are several factors that will drive up the price of hay this year.
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Cotter says he has been buying his hay from White County.
Baxter County Agriculture Agent Paige Barrett says she thinks we will be seeing the affects of the drought for quite awhile.
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Cotter says ponds getting low or even drying up have been a problem over the last several months due to the lack of rainfall in the area.
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Barrett says another affect of the drought is several variety of trees are not budding out as early as usual.
There is relief on the way this week. The National Weather Service in North Little Rock says north central Arkansas can expect between one and three inches of rain between Wednesday and Sunday.
The average rainfall for August through February in Mountain Home is 26.52 inches. However, at KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot, the official reporting station in Mountain Home for the National Weather Service, we only received 13.25 inches of rain. That put the area at a deficit of 13.27 inches, meaning only half of the expected rainfall for those seven months fell.
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