Oklahoma Farmers Forced To Make Hard Choices

EL RENO, Okla. (AP) -- The impact of Oklahoma's lingering drought is forcing farmers to make tough decisions.<br/><br/>Drought conditions dried out grass pasture early in the fall, forcing farmers

Monday, December 25th 2006, 6:05 am

By: News On 6

EL RENO, Okla. (AP) -- The impact of Oklahoma's lingering drought is forcing farmers to make tough decisions.

Drought conditions dried out grass pasture early in the fall, forcing farmers to begin feeding hay to cattle earlier in the year. The drought also hit hay fields hard, and producers cut nearly half as much as they have in previous years.

This fall, farmer Denny Pankrantz paid nearly $4,000 for hay to keep his cattle fed through winter -- the first time he has had to do that in 24 years of farming.

Like many farmers, Pankrantz has had to decide whether to spend money on hay that is fast becoming scarce or thin a herd he has spent years cultivating.

The price of hay nearly has tripled in the past two years as Oklahoma endures another year of drought conditions.