A new crop and pasture report shows things continue to get worse across the Midwest..
70 percent of Illinois' pastures are in very poor condition.
55 percent of Iowa's in the same shape.
Now, farmers are feeding their animals hay, because those grazing lands have shriveled up, causing supplies to tighten.
"Iowa's hay producers are getting a double squeeze because of the drought. Their livestock clients keep buying hay because of the drought, but their fields aren't producing as much hay as they could be."
Scott County Farmer Dale Scherer says, "There's approximately one thousand bales on this side of the shed, normally at this time, the rest of the shed would be completely full up to the front of this hayrack over here."
He mows 500 acres of hay each year. And this year has been strange. Hot, dry weather has increased part of his Alfalfa hay crop. But his short grass fields haven't been so lucky.
"Our grass fields' first cutting was really good, after that we have not baled even mowed or baled our grass fields."
Grass hay is lower quality, making it cheaper for farmers to buy. But all of Scherer's supply is selling fast. Because livestock pastures look like this.
"Where it would be green to the point where you wouldn't see any dirt any dust, so it's very typical of a lot of pastures where the grass is not growing, has not grown for the past several months."
Forcing cattle producers to start turning to hay supplies early.
"A lot of them are feeding hay right now which is months before they'd normally do it so because of that I've actually sold hay to guys here in Scott County that have never bought hay from me before."
Scherer's cattle still have corn silage to eat for now. But he's close to wrapping up all his hay orders for this year.
"We have to make sure we have enough to feed our own cattle."
To combat that hay shortage Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has approved allowing farmers access to state public land as well as highway right of ways to find more hay.
The drought is pushing up hay prices across the Midwest.
The latest numbers from the University of Wisconsin show prices for Iowa alfalfa hay have climbed six dollars and forty cents.
Illinois alfalfa hay prices have risen by fifty dollars.
