Kingfisher County’s unusually damp summer (to date) has resulted in a bumper hay harvest.

Some producers have been cutting and baling Lovegrass in their wheat stubble, producing as much as five or six bales to the acre, County Extension Director-Agriculture Educator Bryan Kennedy said.

Haygrazer fields have also produced unusually large yields of hay.

Locally cattle are flourishing on lush pastures.

Kennedy noted that the county’s damp summer has not been experienced statewide with western sections of the state dealing with dry weather.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought conditions in most of the western tier of counties, ranging from moderate to extreme, as well as pockets of drought in the eastern parts of the state.

Pasture conditions have remained well above average in the county, boosted by unexpectedly heavy rainfall in July (10.02 inches moisture in July compared to the 2.64-inch average for the month), followed by some welcome showers in August.

Kennedy warned that county soybean growers need to be on the lookout for army worms, which have begun to show up.

Wheat producers have begun to apply fertilizer as the fall seeding season approaches.

“I wish we could see some improvement in the grain market,” he said.

He said that cattle markets which went into a nosedive in the spring have been up and down in recent months, citing a need for stability there, also, for producers to determine what to do.

Farming and livestock production are always risky operations with uncertain markets adding to the risk. Kennedy said local agricultural producers are becoming increasingly aware of the health of their soil, adjusting fertilizer practices to maintain the healthy organisms that are necessary for productive soil.