ESSEX, Vt. (WCAX/Gray News) – A Vermont farmer is searching for answers after dozens of his hay bales were vandalized.
Ethan Lawrence of Lawrence Family Farms said he was mowing a field when he spotted it, 58 bales of hay with a slash through every single one.
“It took a couple of hours to realize what had happened, for reality to set in. I’ve never been so upset,” Lawrence said.
The bales are an eighth of the hay Lawrence needs to feed his 100 cows through the winter. He and his wife Alexis worked all summer to grow it and stayed up late harvesting it — just the two of them.
“We didn’t have any other help. We had to get a babysitter and work till 1 o’clock in the morning,” he said.
Lawrence said the bales were worth about $75 each. Now, he says he’ll be lucky to get $5 a pop.
Growing new hay this late in the season is virtually out of the question, and buying new hay to feed their hungry cows comes at a steep cost.
“It’s a matter of literally selling animals or, you know, buying hay at $75 a bail,” said Lawrence.
Heather Darby with UVM Extension said that the high price point comes after two soggy summers that interrupted hay growth, which thrives in sunny, drier conditions.
“I think everybody realizes that we haven’t had a lot of dry weather this year or last year, and so that’s really hindered the timeframe that people have to be able to make good quality hay,” she said.
As for conditions within a bale of hay, Darby said that white plastic wrap is meant to preserve quality and allow hay to ferment, something that exposure to oxygen ruins.
“Once you open that bale up, you get oxygen in the bale, and that’s what causes the feed to be ruined because then you’ll get microbial growth that you wouldn’t otherwise have,” she said.
Lawrence can’t help but think the person who slashed his bales knew how deep the damage would cut.
“It’s just really sad that it was so targeted by somebody who knew what they were doing,” he said. “I just want somebody to be held accountable for their actions. The money doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s … it’s the blood, sweat, and tears from me and my wife.”
Essex police say the case is still under investigation, and they are following up on several leads. They want anyone with information on what happened at the Lawrence Family Farms to contact them.
Copyright 2024 WCAX via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.