Hay There!

One might think how neat it would be to send a drone over the valley or fly over on an ultralight, and view the progress of the year as farmers and ranchers begin to prepare to close out on the summer work. Along Highway 2 running west and east through the northern part of this big and glorious state, and miles and miles of hay bales on acres and acres of land.

This might be the situation or picture next year with the water shortage along the Milk River Valley. From Fresno Dam, located at Havre, eastward, the Milk River is starting to look like it is the Evaporated Milk Valley.

At this time, farmers are scrounging to get every possible blade of grass of forage of any nutritional value, put up into bales, be it rectangular (aka 'idiot cubes') or round ones, they are scurrying to bring in whatever sheaves can be gathered.

While it is predicted that there will be no irrigation water until at least late August of 2025, even at that point in time there is no guarantee things will go back to "normal," for some still recall what "normal" was before CoVid attacked the world.

The hay will be sacred for the next couple of years and it won't be easy to find, as farmers and ranchers begin to clutch onto their livelihood to sustain cattle, sheep, horses and even their goats. The skies will not be a pattern of dot-to-dot from an upper view as Montanans' begin to sit and wait for a new start and brighter outcome.

At least, as Red Green says, "We're all in this together."

They sit with hands folded in prayer. Some things don't change.