Jane Kaufman reports in The Berkshire Eagle that farmers and horse owners say this is one of the worst summer seasons for hay that they have seen. The frequent, sometimes-heavy rains this summer are the biggest reason. Mike Balawender, who owns Balawender Farm in Cheshire, said, “Hands down the worst [hay] season I’ve ever seen.... And even if you could get some good weather, the fields are absolutely saturated. You can’t really work in the fields.... You can’t string together two or three good days to get the hay to dry to put it into small square bales.... By the time you get ready to dry, it's raining again.... So you know, you're right back to zero again.” Farm animals cannot eat the wet hay. Many farmers got a first hay cut earlier in the year, but few have managed a second since the rains began. And while orchard owners and vegetable growers can get insurance, Balawender says, “When it comes to hay, it is extremely difficult to get any kind of crop insurance." He also cites high fertilizer and fuel costs, and continuing problems with the supply chain as making it a very difficult summer for some local farmers. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.