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Scott County Extension Rt. 6 Box 542 Gate City, VA 24251 PHONE 276-452-2772 FAX 276-452-4772 |
Press Release
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Contact: Scott Jerrell Phone: (276) 452-2772 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/7/2007 12:22 AM |
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Drought Greatly Affecting Horse Owners
An early frost and a persistent state of drought have
certainly strained local farmers’ abilities to graze animals and grow crops
this year. Combined with high fuel,
feed, and supply costs, most farmers are should be looking at the long term
impacts this will have on their operation and how to cope until rains
come.
Hay
is extremely short and in high demand this year, and most farmers are looking
for ways to stretch supplies. One way
is to “limit feed” hay to horses. A
horse must receive at least 1% (10 pounds for every 1000 pounds) of their body
weight in hay to supply enough fiber to keep the digestive system working
properly. Rations can then be
formulated and adjusted to fit the nutritional needs of the horse based on the
stage of production. Grains and some
by-product feeds such as beet pulp, soyhull pellets and wheat middlings are
commonly used in these rations. The
by-product feeds mentioned offer a high amount of fiber that is easily digested
by the horse.
To assist in locating hay, the Virginia
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services maintain a hay clearinghouse
newsletter vdacs.virginia.gov/marketnews/pdffiles/hay.pdf, which allows farmers selling or seeking to
buy hay the opportunity to advertise.
Also, the Farm Service Agency maintains the Hay Net which allows farmers
from across the United States to post hay for sale and buyers looking for hay
at www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/hayNet?area=online&subject=landing&topic=han&setflag=welcome.
Finally, don’t neglect the animals need for
water. On hot days, with limited
moisture coming from forages, horses will need a free and ready source of
water. Animals can survive without hay
for a few weeks, but will die within a few days without water.