While Door County farmers have escaped this winter in adequate shape regarding corn silage reserves, the same cannot be said for hay. Hay and silage are similar in that they are both used as animal fodder. Silage ferments and is stored in a silo while hay is significantly dryer, made up of cut grass. The shortage of hay is so acute it has been identified just as winter officially sets in according to Door County Farm Bureau President Daniel Vandertie.

Vandertie warns that the shortage could roll into crops normally planted in the fall season such as winter wheat. Winter wheat plantings for 2019 are at 110-year lows across the Midwest.