Lisa Smit is desperately trying to find a steady supply of hay for the horses at her Florida equestrian center. She has four to seven semi loads per year of mixed hay shipped in from other states, but this year can't find what she needs.

“I can't find anything,” says Smit. “I know the freight is going to cost more than the hay. But I would think that, at least for $250-300/ton, I should be able to get something delivered.”

She's not the only frustrated hay buyer around. Horse interests and dairy producers nation-wide are scrambling to find hay at affordable prices. Extreme drought in the East and West, too much rain some places in between, an Easter weekend freeze and the emphasis on corn for ethanol have all combined to create a hay shortage the severity of which perhaps has never been seen before.

With a few exceptions, prices are uniformly high, approaching summertime records in some areas.

Here's a quick look at the current hay supply and price situation in selected states:

Florida — Until recently, the sunshine state had too much of it and not nearly enough rain. But the situation has improved, reports Andy Burns, hay seller for Larsen Farms, Ocala.

“We've had lots of moisture,”says Burns. “There should be plenty of local forage produced over the next 90 days.”

Based in Idaho, Larsen Farms ships alfalfa hay by rail to Florida, where prices are up in part because of record-high demand in the West. Burns says dairy-quality hay is bringing $245-plus/ton in northern Florida and southern Georgia, and small bales of horse hay range from $325 to $365/ton.

Tennessee — “Right now we have half the hay supply that we normally have,” reports Gary Bates, University of Tennessee extension forage agronomist.

He says round bales of beef-quality hay are selling for $55-60/bale, up from $15-20/bale two years ago. Drought and especially the Easter freeze curtailed forage production, forcing some producers to sell cows. Others are stretching their limited hay supplies and praying for rain so pastures can be stockpiled for winter grazing.

“If we have a really dry fall, it will go from being serious to being just devastating,” says Bates.

Kentucky — Sporadic rains in July eased the drought, but first hay-cutting yields were about half of normal, says Tom Keene, University of Kentucky extension associate. With little hay carried over from 2006, the supply is tight.

“Our beef producers can't afford to pay exorbitant prices for hay,” he says. “It just won't pencil out. They'll have to either feed other commodity feeds or stretch the hay out. The last resort would be to sell livestock.

“They're going to have to be really good managers to get through until the '08 crop comes in,” Keene adds.

Pennsylvania — “It's dry over here,” reports Paul Craig, extension educator in Dauphin County. “We had a short first cutting and it hasn't gotten any better for second and third cuttings.”

Spotty rains have helped, but the state overall remains droughty, he says. Some farmers were chopping corn in early August. Prices for top-end alfalfa hay have surpassed $200/ton, a level Craig has never-before seen this early in the season.

South Dakota — “Overall production is very good in South Dakota,” says Jerry Bawdon, USDA Market News reporter in Sioux Falls. “There are more big round bales visible from the highway this year than I have seen for the last five or six years, and that's from one end of the state to the other.”

Overall quality is good, too, says Bawdon. Western South Dakota is getting dry and grass growth has slowed, so some fall calves went to auction a few weeks early. But hay is plentiful.

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