The recent wet weather in Red Deer County has been doing hay farmers no favours, according to Art Preachuk, agricultural services manager for the county.
For the most part, the first cut of hay should be done by now, he said, but weeds have been coming up faster than average.
“I know people have had a tough time of it because of the moisture coming every day, and it's just hard to get in there and have it pure and take it up dry when you keep having more showers and rain,” said Preachuk.
Every shower reduces the quality of the hay, but there is also extra cost involved as farmers have to turn it once or twice to let it dry, he said.
However, with the cool and moist weather this season, the likelihood of a good second cut is high, he said.
"A lot of times you get a hot, dry August, and after your first cut then your grass just sort of stops, but they should get a good second cut out of it, I should hope.”
The cool moist weather is also making weeds grow faster than usual, he added.
As far as weed control, county staff are about three-quarters through the spray program along county roads, and he wanted to remind rural landowners of Red Deer County's fenceline spraying program.
"We've got rental sprayers and we've also got our fenceline program, where we'll spray a half mile of fenceline for $100,” he said.
“So if people need a little help catching up on some of their weed problems, we can definitely lend a hand."
Rural residents interested in this service can call the Red Deer County office at 403-350-2150 and ask for the agricultural services department, he noted.
