By Melissa Ganje & photojournalist Carrie Kohlmeier, FOX 21 News

BAYFIELD COUNTY - Northwestern Wisconsin is in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.  With year 3 of unusually dry weather, this has farmer's fields thirsting for rain as they worry about feeding their cattle this winter.

Bayfield County farmers need moisture and they need it now.  "It's the driest I've seen in my life.  It's all crunchy; everything is crunchy and turning brown," said hobby farmer Steve Stipetich.  Stipetich says every crop is at risk; from grain, to hay and corn.  "We are desperately in need of rain right now."  When we spoke with Stipetich in May, his oat field was bone dry and barren.  Now, with little to no rain since Spring, it may be a loss.  "Unless we get rain, the kernels won't develop and their won't be any grain to harvest so all you'll end up with is straw," said Stipetich.  And he uses that grain to feed his cattle along with his hay crop which is also suffering.  His 20 acre hayfield would normally produce 1,000 bales of hay in 1st crop, now Stipetich says he'll only get 250 and he doesn't expect a 2nd crop.  "There certainly isn't much here but whatever it is, you are happy to get, take what there is and hope for rain to follow."

Stipetich spent the day raking and bailing hay Sunday like other neighboring farmers, many worried about their winter food supply.  "I mean it's the talk of the neighborhood as to where we are going to get the feed from to feed the animals in the winter," said Stipetich who expects to sell some of his cattle this year to compensate for the shortage of feed.  "It's depressing, it's stressful, knowing that you have to part with some of them because you don't have the feed and you can't really afford to buy the feed for the winter."

Stipetich says dairy farmers in the area have it even worse.  "Dairy farms are really stressed at this point because there is a shortage of feed and the feed is very expensive to purchase it and yet the milk price is way low so it's hard to justify buying feed to feed cow that aren't going to produce the dollars that you need."  And to make matters worse, grasshoppers are starting to make their way into fields, feeding on what little is left.  It's been an unusually dry three years and right now they need several days of heavy, soaking rain.  "But looking at the long range forecast, it sounds like the rain isn't supposed to come until September and by then, it will be too late," said Stipetich.