Farming in Calhoun County is done primarily by bi-vocational farming families that try to fit farming into the hours following their day jobs and on weekends. Those hours are often interrupted by rain showers and other obligations, but the committment to farming is not for the faint of heart. It takes dedication and sacrifice.
According to Farmflavor.com which list farming statistics for each State, Farms in the State of West Virginia are 95 percent family owned, the highest number in the United States. Around 23,000 farms averaging 157 acres in size call West Virginia home. The Mountain State is also the third most-forested state with 12 million acres of forestland.
West Virginia’s top agricultural commodity is broiler production, which makes up more than 30 percent of its agricultural receipts. Beef cattle and calves account for over 20 percent. Other important livestock products include dairy, turkeys and chicken eggs.
As for crops, hay is No. 1 in the state. Additional crops include apples, corn for grain, soybeans and tobacco. Many farmers also produce sheep and lambs, hogs, peaches, honey, farm-raised fish and wool.
The current price of square bails of hay is $3.00-$6.00 per bail depending upon location and type of hay. The large round bails, also dependent upon hay type and bail size, can run from $25.00 to $ 95.00 per bail.
Whether or not its for feeding livestock of their own, or selling to others, there is certainly a market for the commodity of hay. I’m praying on this rainy Wednesday morning that the hay is up and in the barns with the next cutting on the horizon of a sunny day.
