Hoping is part of a farmers' way of life.

Amidst a drought, Campbell County's farmers are clinging to hope for rain to revive their ravaged crops.

Having a bad year is part of farming, but it's never easy, said Bob Huck, 67, of Bezold Road, a lifelong farmer. Hoping for good weather is part of a farmer's life, Huck said.

"It's just in your blood," he said. "You figure it will be better next year."

Huck has 305 of the more than 500 rolls of hay he needs to properly feed his 65 head of beef cattle. And that's with special permission to harvest a neighbor's unused hay field.

Huck has sold off some of his cattle to save what sparse pasture grass there is for the remaining herd.

If it rains in the next few weeks Huck will plant salvage corn.

Huck's farm received three tenths an inch of rain Friday, June 22.

Anything helps, Huck said.

Most of Northern Kentucky is six to eight inches below normal rain levels since the start of spring according to a drought statement issued by the National Weather Service's regional office in Wilmington, Ohio.

Don Sorrell, Campbell County's agriculture extension agent, spoke with more than 25 farmers about options like emergency crops to survive this year's drought Thursday, June 21.

"You all need to be thinking 'What is my strategy in case it doesn't rain?,'" Sorrell said.

Many farmers are at a crossroads for making decisions like selling cattle early because of lack of pasture grass.

"If it would start raining today it would take 30 days to have really good grass," Sorrell said.

There are about 500 working farms in Campbell County, and livestock is the primary enterprise of about 300 of those farms, he said.

Bob Schack, of Camp Springs, said he's spending about 30 cents per day to feed grain to each of his 43 head of cattle.

It's a lot more of an expense than feeding the animals hay from a pasture, Schack said.

"My pastures' are about history," he said.

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