State Lifts Restrictions on Hay Haulers
Severe dry weather has Virginia farmers struggling to keep their cattle fed, and as Charles Fishburne reports, two state agencies have stepped in to get supplies where they are needed.
It's not officially a drought, but farmers don’t need a declaration to know they have trouble.
Lidholme: It's very bad. It's turning out to be one of the worst that we've seen in years.
Elaine Lidholme, Virginia Department of Agriculture.
Lidholme: The pasture's burnt up, so the cattle can't graze; they're already having to feed hay, which normally you don't do until December.
Beginning late last week, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and the Department of Emergency Management have lifted some restrictions on trucks and trailers so they can haul oversized loads on Virginia highways to get where they need to go.
Lidholme: Safety is still paramount, but it takes away some of the normal weight and width restrictions.
Agriculture is Virginia's number one industry at 55 billion a year, and cattle farmers bring in more money than corn, tobacco, tomatoes, cotton, apples and peanuts and potatoes combined.
Charles Fishburne, WCVE News
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