As I write this article in early spring, talk of drought is becoming more prevalent in many parts of the country. Drought years can be tough on forage operations in many ways.

The grazing season was well underway in the southern U.S. when tornadic weather spawned in early May. Across the country, 14 states have declared worsening drought stages in the peak of calving season.

Five years ago, when you drove into an ag dealer lot you could hardly turn a car around (let alone a truck and trailer) due to the amount of inventory.

Function. A word with seven definitions, one being “a group of related actions contributing to a larger action.” Forage. A word with four key functions.

Positive and negative. Not as in right versus wrong but as a direction, like north versus south, right versus left. (“Left turn here?” “Right.” So, I turned right. “No, no. Correct, not turn right!”)

Situation No. 1 You just finished changing the alternator on the haybine and are happy that it can now go back to work, cutting the alfalfa before the rain hits tomorrow.

Spring, or something that only slightly mimicked what I would truly consider spring, was not particularly kind to my country. It was cold. It was windy.

Last month, I made the unpardonable mistake of reading Facebook comments on a somewhat politically charged article. Subconsciously, I must have been missing that kind of discord since it’s been a bit drought-like on my Facebook feed since the election.

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