The drought plaguing eastern Montana and much of North and South Dakota came on quickly and is intensifying, leading ranchers to sell their cattle and farmers to harvest early whatever crops that have grown so far this summer.
Recent cooler temperatures and gray skies in Amarillo, Texas are predicted to remain through the rest of the week, and most likely into the weekend, with a light breeze and at least a 40 to 60 percent chance of rain each day.
Trish Schneider, of Burt, N.D., is looking for all the hay she can get this years as she deals with a poor hay crop of her own and has to feed 150 cows this winter. She is haying Conservation Reserve Program acres to help pick up some more tonnage.
Lawmakers last year submitted several bills seeking to regulate farm rides after a 2014 hayride crash in Mechanic Falls killed a 17-year-old girl and injured more than 20 others.
A new program aims to show livestock farmers in three states how to best graze their way to healthier animals, increased profits and cleaner waterways.
