MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries in cooperation with the Alabama Agribusiness Council, the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Alabama Farmers Federation are launching an online hay listing to address the urgent need for hay that livestock producers are experiencing during the current drought conditions in Alabama. As of Oct.12, 2016, 26 primary counties in Alabama have been designated as primary natural disaster areas and 14 additional counties are classified as contiguous by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought. Extreme drought conditions have caused producers to be in desperate need of immediate assistance to provide hay for livestock.
Alabama agriculture stakeholders met last week to determine ways to assist livestock producers in the interim. There is an immediate need to provide a platform for hay producers and livestock producers to communicate their hay availability and needs. The Alabama Hay Listing page will be hosted on the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries’ website (http://agi.alabama.gov/s/haylistings) and provide an avenue for farmers who have hay available to list for sale the type, size, quality and quantity they have available. Also on the same page, farmers in need of hay, can search for hay in their area that is available for purchase. There will also be links to other helpful resources on this page provided by all of the stakeholders.
Commissioner of Alabama Agriculture and Industries John McMillan adds, “I have seen first-hand how dry some of our farms in Alabama are and we have not even entered the winter months. We are grateful for the working relationship with all of our stakeholders. They always stand ready to work together to help Alabama farmers.”
