Hay supplies are predicted to be low this winter, so plan now to stockpile and stretch out your hay supply. | Photo: Thinkstock

Although we are just more than halfway through 2012, hay is already in short supply and hay stockpiles are expected to be even scarcer moving into winter. Hay prices are trending upward across the country, not just in one region as in past years, and we can expect them to continue to rise in the coming months. This is especially true across most of the central and eastern United States.

The hay shortage this year is due to several factors, but the most important is the widespread drought conditions. For much of this summer, two-thirds of the United States has been affected by drought and high temperatures. In some states hay fields are under irrigation, but most of the hayland in the country is only watered by rainfall. Without rainfall, hay growth has been reduced severely.

Hay supplies have been limited for several years, with drought conditions occurring in many regions in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. In other words four of the last six years have been drier than normal in many states