BLACKSBURG, Va., July 16 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
Most years when Tim Service '79 travels the roads near his cattle farm in Patrick County, he sees vibrant green pastures full of grazing cows and picturesque green hayfields covered in long rows of cut grass, drying before being turned into bales and stored for winter feed.
"This year, everything is dry and brown," Service said. "Everyone is worried about selling cattle and buying hay this fall."
Along with most of Virginia, Service and his neighbors are experiencing a historic drought that is hitting cattle farmers particularly hard. Drought in the spring affected the critical growth period for the cool-season grasses that ...