Climate Adaptation
Drought Forces North America Farmers to Turn Food Crops to Hay
- Failed wheat, barley fields are being fed to hungry cattle
- Crops that should be ‘armpit high’ are ‘boot-high at best’
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Drought is withering crops on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, prompting farmers to take the rare measure of baling up their wheat and barley stems to sell as hay.
The bales are providing much-needed forage for livestock operators struggling against a lack of pasture and soaring feed costs, and also signal smaller grain harvests that could keep crop prices high in the months to come. Temperatures are expected to soar next week in the Great Plains, further threatening parched farm fields.