Relief offered to farmers

Steve Fitzgerald’s normal cash crop of corn is better suited for cutting and feeding his beef cattle, the result of another dry summer in southern Augusta County.
“The yields are about 70 percent less,’’ said Fitzgerald, who farms in Stuarts Draft and the Spotswood-Middlebrook area.
Drought-stricken Augusta County farmers are getting some relief in the next couple of weeks thanks to the generosity of their farming colleagues in neighboring Page County. The worst-hit areas of Augusta include Stuarts Draft, Middlebrook and Greenville.
Starting in mid-September, 300 tons of surplus hay from Page County will be brought to Augusta County to help farmers who had a shortage of hay to feed livestock because of the dry weather.
“I think the Lord has blessed us this year,’’ said Luray cattle farmer Jerry Turner, who came up with the idea and solicited support from other members of the Page County Farmers Association. “We are trying to help our neighbors out and that is what the Scripture tells us to do.”
Turner said he knows some Augusta County farmers and was aware of the drought’s crippling effects.
He said parts of Page County endured a drought last year, but this summer has been “one of the best hay years we have ever had.”
The Virginia Cooperative Extension Office in Verona will take applications from farmers for the hay until Wednesday.
Applications for the hay are available at the extension office or at the Farm Service Agency office in Verona, said Jason Carter, the animal science extension agent with the Verona extension office.
Carter said he will evaluate how much hay each farmer needs based on the number of breeding livestock each owns. Also assisting in the mission is the Blue Ridge Community College Commercial Driving School, which will haul the hay from Page County.
Carter said there have been hay relief efforts before, but called this one “a pretty unique opportunity. I can’t explain how grateful we are for the people in Page who decided to share their wealth.”
He said the alternative for Augusta County farmers would be to purchase hay out of pocket or sell animals to get it.
Those farmers needing applications can visit the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service office near the Augusta County Government Center in Verona, or call Carter at 245-5750.