Audio clip
Dr. James Burran
Area farmers say continued drought impact on their business has intensified the competition for hay leases on Chickamauga Battlefield.
“Considering last year, any place you can tie up for anything this year would be helpful,” Todd Hice, director of the Walker County Farm Service Agency, said.
Farmers are doing everything they can to survive the worst drought in decades.
“Anything that gives you stability is going to be advantageous,” Mr. Hice said
Last season hay supplies were down and prices up, leaving many cattle ranchers to cull or sell off herds rather than feed livestock that should be grazing.
Chickamauga cattle farmer Jim McCarty said the prospect of extra land can be appealing. His family is three years into a 10-year lease on battlefield tracts totaling nearly 250 acres.
“We’ve got land, but the lease enables us to run more cattle because we don’t have to have the hay fields on our own land,” Mr. McCarty said.
Park officials opened bids last week on three tracts of 30 acres, 97 acres and 109 acres. They are now sending out letters to the highest bidders, Sam Weddle, park management assistant, said this week.
After the top bidders are notified, park officials will assess each farmer’s ability to maintain the fields before making final decisions and awarding the contracts.
Mr. Weddle said park officials want to assign the land as soon as possible — hopefully by the middle of March — so farmers can begin preparing the fields.
Battlefield officials said they can’t release information about who made bids or how much they are for until the evaluations are made.
Supervisory Park Ranger Jim Staub said the park benefits too from leasing the land to farmers by keeping the expanses cut.
“The primary interest on the part of the park is to maintain the historic scene inside the battlefield,” he said.
To Learn More
For more information about Chickamauga Battlefield visit http://www.nps.gov/chch/.
