Perry Neal and his two older brothers manage Neal Farms in Wilson County.WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. -
This summer's hot and dry conditions are taking a toll on cattle ranchers throughout Middle Tennessee.
Perry Neal and his two older brothers manage Neal Farms and own about 1,200 commercial beef cows.
Currently, his Wilson County ranch is looking very dry.
"This pasture would be at least six inches maybe even knee high and it would be really green," Neal told Nashville's News 2.
The lack of grass for the cows to graze on has forced Neal to use hay and grain feed.
"We don't feed any hay until we get into winter, which is November and December, so were having to feed hay now so not only are we short on the hay we have, we're also having to feed more hay through the summer and who knows how long we're going to have to feed hay until we get some rain," Neal continued.
Neal estimated the hay production to be down between 60% and 70% from last year.
With growth down, Neal is unsure where he will get additional hay from and expects to pay more.
"Most years maybe its $30 to $40 [for a big roll of hay], this year it's already $60 to $70 a roll if you can get it," Neal added.
Not only is hay more expensive, grain feed is more as well and the increases in cost could potentially cost consumers.
Neal said, "The price of corn, if it continues to get high that might cause the price of beef to get higher."
Neal believes anywhere between five and six inches of rain would help his ranch.
