Farmers say this summer’s hay crops have taken a hit from the long stretches of dry weather, leaving pastures brown and feed supplies thin.

Most agree, though, that given prior wet years, the swing isn’t unusual and this year is part of a larger cycle.

In a typical year, pastures provide enough hay to harvest three times and, in a good year, sometimes four. Travis Haley, who runs Caldwell Farms in Turner, said this year’s second haying was “extremely, extremely short,” with some pastures not yet worth harvesting a third time.

“There’s going to be places on the well-drained ground that it’s not even worth going back over. It really is just pretty poor out there,” Haley said.

Hay shortages aren’t new in Maine, but agricultural experts warn that the swings are becoming more common. Jaime Garzon, an educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, said this season’s struggles reflect a larger pattern.

“We’re seeing more variability: wet springs followed by dry spells. This is exactly the type of fluctuation that is becoming more common,” Garzon said, adding that he couldn’t attribute fluctuations to climate change when seasons can vary so much. “It isn’t abnormal to see a year with mixed results, and farmers will have to adapt their crops and strategies accordingly.”

Haley has felt those swings across his fields this year. He said the hay “just didn’t grow very well at all,” forcing him to pull cows off pasture early and substitute feed. His corn crop has also been hit.

“We’re seeing our corn not develop the ears,” he said. “A lot of our stuff is on the higher knolls — they’re all dead. That’s more tons that aren’t going to be there, less quality feed.”

Still, he remains pragmatic, noting some of the options his farm has to make up for shortfalls.

“I think we’re gonna be in decent shape,” he said. “We’re gonna chop a bunch of our grain, corn, and turn that into silage, and then just buy grain. The price of grain is down quite a bit right now.”

Rodney Hall of Hall Farms in East Dixfield described a mixed hay season this year in which the first cutting in June and early July was strong, but later harvests dried up. He said most of what would be cut during the second pass was far too dry and is not optimistic the third pass will be much better. 

“If you go by and look at people’s lawns and they’re all brown — a lot of the hayfields are the same way. It’s probably half a crop, maybe,” Hall said. “And the third crop, for us . . . there’s gonna be very, very little.”

While Hall Farms was able to cut enough hay this year to feed its cattle through the winter, there isn’t nearly enough to consider selling wholesale to other farms. 

“If somebody was to call us and need, say, 100 round bales of hay, there’s been years that we’d say, ‘Sure, we have them,’ but this year, no,” Hall said. “We wouldn’t dare sell any feed, because if you run short in April, you might not be able to (feed) your own cattle.”

Maple Hill Farm in Farmington is also focusing on keeping enough hay for its herd, while cutting back on selling wholesale. Bruce Tracy was out haying the fields, so his mother, Donna Tracy, spoke for the farm.

“Bruce said after the first haying, it’s not really growing back,” she said. “And we’re not sure if we’re going to get another haying in.”

Donna Tracy said the farm will have enough to feed its cattle through the winter, but they are only selling a fraction of what they normally would. 

“We’re doing fine,” she said, noting that the herd goes through about two large round bales a day.

Though Maple Hill Farm is maintaining, other smaller farms may be experiencing losses that are harder to absorb, according to Gloria Varney of Nezinscot Farms in Turner.

Varney said the combination of poor yields and rising costs could push marginal farms toward closure. 

“Some farms are facing extreme challenges this year. A lot of the hay, grass and alfalfa just didn’t come in. That can add up to serious financial stress,” she said.

Garzon said the key challenge will be how farms manage to adapt in the long term. 

“Droughts aren’t new, but the timing and intensity are changing,” he said. “That means more years when farmers have to make tough decisions about how to feed their animals, and how much they can afford to buy from elsewhere.”

Haley puts it more bluntly: “Every year is challenging. Either you’ve got a wet spring, early fall . . . there’s no such thing as a perfect growing year. A farmer must wear many hats in order to survive.”

Even in tough times, he added, farms lean on one another. “It comes down to the local community of farmers,” Haley said. “They do us favors when we’re in a pickle. Be good to your neighbors, and they’re always good to you.”