Farmers have an ally in hunt for hay

Local woman finds supplier, arranges for bales to be trucked in

Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

LENOIR --The summer's extreme drought and heat baked the land and stifled crops of hay at A.J. Craig's Caldwell County farm, and until last week, he wasn't sure how he was going to feed his 24 cows.

Then he met Linda Haas, who made a few calls and arranged for 637 bales of hay to be delivered Wednesday at the Caldwell County fairgrounds. Haas, a metal inspector for a Lenoir tool and gauge company, had grown up on a Valmead farm and remembered watching her father worry about feeding his animals during bitter winters and dry summers.

Haas hasn't farmed in years and doesn't own horses or cattle. "I just wanted to help people," she said, "because I know what it's like to hunt for hay."

Prices for hay brought into the county have, in some cases, skyrocketed. Several of the farmers collecting the hay said it normally cost $2 a bale but had heard it was selling for as high as $11 a bale.

Haas said she knew that was too expensive for most people trying to raise cows and horses.
So, about three weeks ago, she started to think about what she could do to get some hay to Caldwell County.

She had heard that the some of the northeastern states had good crops of the grass and started calling farmers in Pennsylvania, eventually finding one who told her he had plenty to spare and would sell it to her for $3 a bale.

Then, Haas and her husband, Jim, talked with a nephew who had a contact at Caldwell Freight Lines and arranged for a truck driver to deliver the load for $1.47 a bale.

Haas said she wouldn't take a commission or charge any fees for brokering the hay delivery, and even refunded the farmers 24 cents per bale when she realized the trucking fee was less than she expected.

Haas went to a Cattlemen Association meeting a couple of weeks ago, and within a few days had taken orders from four Caldwell County families requesting more than 600 bales.

The hay was delivered Wednesday near the Caldwell County fairgrounds, and for the first time, Haas met the people -- from cattle farmers to Paso Fino horse breeders -- she was helping.

Craig, 80, and his family, who run two cattle farms in the Granite Falls area, ordered 300 bales of hay and said they don't know how their cows would have survived if Haas hadn't intervened.
"Everybody is just looking for hay," Craig said. "She's a godsend."

Haas, for her part, said she'll keep trying to get hay to Caldwell County farmers as long as they need it.

"We'll keep on truckin'," she said.

Where to Find Hay
Farmers selling or looking to buy hay or find transportation services can get more information through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Hay Alert service. For more information, visit www.ncagr.com/HayAlert or call 866-506-6222 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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