An article by Scott Fitzgerald on TheSouthern.com reports that horse owners in Southern Illinois are facing difficulties feeding horses because of reduced hay crops and high hay prices. In an interviw with Sheila Puckett, Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Equine Center manager, Fitzgerald quotes Puckett as saying, “In Goreville where there is a sales barn, the horses are getting thinner and cheaper in price week by week. It’s a problem.”

The article noted that hay in the area has risen from $3 for a small square bale to $4.75 or more. Large round bales weighing up to 800 pounds that normally sell for $30-$40 are selling for up to $100.

The hay shortage is occurring throughout the southeast where drought caused reduced hay yields this year, and fewer farmers were raising hay becuase of the demand for corn for ethanol production.

The article quoted horse and cow producer Robert Light as saying what horse owners are doing is disheartening. “You’re hearing people stuck with horses since they closed the slaughter plants. They will just give them away,” Light said