Drought requires passing it forward to help those in need

Your vehicle breaks down unexpectedly while you are away from home.
A mechanic in a small town takes time to help and fix your vehicle so you can get home.
Sometimes they will take the extra money, but sometimes, a mechanic will say something like, “Pay it Forward,” or “Pass it Forward,” – a reflection of a grateful and generous heart.
Farmers, ranchers and landowners that have an abundance of hay, pasture or even Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres that qualify for haying have the opportunity to help livestock producers that are going to be short of forage until the next growing season.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, released on July 13, 2017, reported extreme drought in the northeast quadrant of Montana, through much of western North Dakota and down into north central South Dakota.
Farmers in Minnesota and Wisconsin could talk with relatives and friends in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana to see if they can share their abundance of forage.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor – going back to January 2000 – a large drought covered southern Montana going all the way down to Mexico in mid-summer 2002.
Ironically, many northern livestock producers shared hay from their stocks in March to send to the Southern Plains.
Now, northern livestock producers in drought areas, especially beginning livestock farmers, may have a difficult time figuring out how they are going to get hay, or pay for hay to feed their livestock.
Hopefully there are people out there who can help those in the drought.

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