A Farmer's Life - Weather Woes For Hay Season 2025

Working with what Mother Nature dishes out comes with the territory in farming life and this summer season has thus far offered a menu of upsets in the weather forecast game.

 

Even when you've disseminated information from several different sources you find the variety and discord of so called weather models is so major that you simply can't figure out what to do about knocking down hay. 

Sadly local news stations like WTEN, an award-winning weather reporting team that was headed by the notable Steve Caporizzo, the former Chief Meteorologist at NEWS10 before his retirement last month, doesn't seem to ever mention weather as it regards to the farmer. Despite the Upstate New York regions heavy reliance on farming businesses. Meaning, give us percentiles and chances of rain and offer more specific regional coverage especially in farming areas the Catskills region rather than always focusing on population hubs like Albany.

Many regional farmers have 'gone for it' with mixed results - working against the forecast variances and calling their own forecast. Basically desperate to get the 1st cut in to try and salvage the 2nd cut being available at all.

 

There are plenty of hay crop losses to rain, and of course many other farming enterprises are suffering with other types of crop problems too. Flooding, drought areas, fungus/insect damage due to high moisture etc. If you own horses you've likely already experienced the clover 'dribbles' with your herd, as the abundance of both red and white clover due to the heavy Spring rainfall predominates across much pastureland.

It seems that farmers are always whining about the weather. I guess it's a reasonable assessment. Growing and harvesting crops is so weather dependent it's hard not to understand the preoccupation that farmers have on the topic. 

 

No wonder then that many hay farmers choose to eliminate both the need for handling small square bales and succumb to the use of herbicides and drying agents and preservative to harvest their dry hay crop. There are tremendous changes going on with big pharma and the harvesting methods of hay going on right now, alongside a bunch of other nefarious business practices coming your way. If you want to learn more on that topic check out this blog on, "Hey - What's Happening in the Hay Herbicide World".  Chemical uses including salts, explain a lot about your horse's gut health, ulcers, leaky gut syndrome, hives, COPD and the like and what likely you are inadvertently doing to contribute to your horse's likelihood in developing these issues. 

 

It's a bit sad really. To see the smaller Mom and Pop farmers go out. Send their haying equipment off to auction and quit the business. Sell their land out for quarrying then development. But not too surprising either. Agricultural machines are expensive to buy, run and maintain. The cost of parts has almost tripled in many cases. Plus the ever rising cost of insurance, and the administrative burdens of collecting forms and tax for state governments. It's truly hard to make ends meet for many.

Labor wise many farmers find their family help all grown and flown the nest, little interested in taking on the very hard work that farming is and that they have experienced first hand.

Clearly horse barn owners running boarding businesses are struggling to make ends meet too - it's not just livestock farmers and dairy businesses. 

So - weather woes aside, the days of hay farming for the smaller enterprises are no doubt numbered. Artisan quality hay is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. 

There are simply too many clouds on the horizon.

 

It will be a very sad farewell. And for those of us who appreciate what our equine athletes need to reach their full potential, we won't have a place to turn for clean, green and non-chemical forage. And that truly is something worth whining about.

 

 

 

Do Expensive Horse Therapies Actually Work?

The recent press including the bold publication of some interesting books has highlighted the use and accessibility of expensive therapies and modalities administered to equine athletes and brought up the topic of whether or not horses truly benefit from all the effort.

Our Horses All Deserve The Best - But What Is The Best?

 

Diagnosing a health or performance issue is obviously a key to managing its care and offering remedial help to the animal. But just when are the lengths that can be employed to research, diagnose and the myriad of treatment options just used to pay for the expensive diagnostic equipment and build pharmaceutical or feed/supplement companies' bottom line?

Just as in human medicine, the doctors in veterinary medicine are subject to the market forces that exist to build business. The increasingly widespread use of drugs like Osphos, which I wrote about in this article -is a great example of how persuasive marketing from a drug manufacturer in press such as the AAEP magazine, and assorted 'attractive' offers, can make a treatment popular without necessarily, in this author's humble opinion anyway, being proven as safe to use long term. 

The business of equine medicine is still booming, despite the lack of ambulatory care providers nationwide. The attendance of a team of expert veterinarians at a prestige barn to treat the most valuable horseflesh will always be a given, even Universities such as Cornell must follow the money. And some opportunities at these high-end facilities to research and document injuries, diseases and treatments do come with the chance to employ their vast array of expensive equipment and learned personnel.

But increasingly the backyard or amateur horse owner is left in the dust. The budget of the average horse owner does not stretch to spending money on major diagnostic practices or costly treatments, even if they are willing or even able to transport their horses to a clinic or university location for the privilege. 

Many notable authorities in the veterinary field, including the much-loved Dr. David Ramey and similarly published author, Dr. Shelley Onderdonk, are among the growing number of veterinarians who are 'coming clean' about the prevalent use and validity of some of the protocols being urged on horse owners by their noble profession.

Full credit to publishers Trafalgar Square Books, for publishing titles such as one of their most recent, Winning with Horses. A stellar insight from both a highly regarded and accomplished polo professional Snow, and his partner veterinarian Onderdonk into the real 'winning' ways.

One of the very best remedies for healing in the horse, whether mental or physical and sometimes both of course run together, is simply to rest the horse. But no-one is making any money out of that, and sadly many horse owners simply don't want to give the horse the time it needs to properly recover.

The horse owners who simply does not have the money to fund repeat vet visits, multiple ongoing tests/Xrays/ ultrasounds, and specialist therapies such as laser treatments or stem cell regenerative methods etc. will likely feel a measure of guilt at not pushing their financial well-being off a cliff to afford what they are coerced into believing is, 'best for their horse". Somewhat ironically, by not doing everything possible and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at a health issue, these horse owners may be doing their horses a huge favor.

A good dose of common sense in the animal's routine, diet and daily care and exercise, with obviously some background help from a veterinary perspective (hopefully someone with an approach based on integrity and sincere knowledge and strong enough in character not to be subject to the wiles of the industry forces), can be better than what some doctors ordered.

The reality is that quick fixes often don't last, and Mother Nature still has plenty of import in the healing process and recovery of an animal's well-being that is sometimes better left without undue interference.