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In Today's eHay
Weekly
February 24, 2009
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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
Weather
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Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly, at
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As commodity-price volatility continues to increase, growers need
to get back to marketing basics, said Kevin Bernhardt, extension farm
management specialist at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, at the
recent Midwest Forage Association meeting.
“We have to get away from the mindset of outguessing the market,”
Bernhardt said. “Volatility is going to be a part of our world going
forward,” in part because of globalization and the fact that what
happens in one country can affect prices in another.
“This is kind of boring,” Bernhardt admitted, “but we want to have
farm records systems – and we want to use those systems. A lot of it
is back to the basics: good farm management, good farm records, know
your costs of production, know what’s at risk in your input portfolio
vs. what’s secured.”
Know and use marketing tools and strategies and communicate with your
lender, broker and other advisors, he said. “You need to make sure
they know what’s happening ahead of time.”
Don’t cut back on feed costs if that means a drop in quality, he
advised. On the left side of a paper, total the additional costs of
making a change with reduced or lost revenue that may result. On the
right side of that page, total the additional revenues you may get with
the reduced or eliminated costs.
“If the right side is bigger than the left side, it’s a change
that’s worth looking at. Don’t automatically cut input costs if it
means a loss in production.”
Growers can expect tighter purchase policies – not being able to buy
ahead and having to have cash down and cash on delivery, he said. Lender
requirements will also increase. “I talked with a lender just
yesterday. He said, ‘Our regulators are telling us we’ve got to
start tightening down the screws on documentation.’ He is also doing a
lot of talking to his loan committees if negative cash flows come in.
Well, which cash flow is not negative right now?”
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tractors are a natural choice for haying operations and heavy loader
work. To learn more, see your local New Holland dealer or call
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While sainfoin is being touted as a wonder crop in some circles,
you’ll want to evaluate the legume carefully before working it into
your cropping plans, says Bruce Anderson, University of Nebraska
extension forage specialist.
Anderson notes that sainfoin has several good characteristics –
grazing friendliness (i.e. it’s bloat-free), tolerance for low
phosphorus and high-pH soils and palatability. Also, forage quality
declines more slowly than with alfalfa as the plant matures.
What doesn’t get mentioned in some of the marketing claims, though, is
that sainfoin doesn’t yield as well in areas where alfalfa is
well-adapted. “It does begin spring growth fast, frequently
outyielding alfalfa at first harvest,” Anderson says. “But then it
regrows very slowly.”
Nitrogen fixation also can be a problem for sainfoin, even when it's
been inoculated with the proper bacteria. “More often than not,
sainfoin does not form enough active nodules to produce all the nitrogen
it needs,” says Anderson. “As a result, even though sainfoin is a
legume, nitrogen fertilizer often is needed to maintain productivity.”
It’s also susceptible to root and crown rot diseases that can quickly
shorten stand life, he adds.
His bottom line: Sainfoin may be best-suited to areas that usually
produce just one cutting of hay per year or are only grazed in spring.
“It could be mixed with a cool-season grass like wheatgrass,
especially if soils are calcareous,” he says. “For most other uses,
though, alfalfa and other traditional forages probably will outperform
sainfoin.”
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Getting the biggest bang for your buck out of soil testing starts
with a good soil sample, notes Doug Beegle, extension soil fertility
specialist with Penn State University. He offers these guidelines for
getting the best samples:
- Sample uniform areas. While most fields are sampled
individually, you might want to subdivide fields if there’s potential
for significant differences across them. Examples include fields with
significant soil differences, where parts of fields receive manure and
other areas don’t, and where there are topographic variations (i.e.,
sidehills vs. low areas) within fields.
- Collect at least 15-20 cores. “More is better,” he says.
- Sample to uniform depth. Inconsistent sampling depth is one of the
biggest sources of error in soil sampling. “This is especially true in
no-till and reduced-tillage systems where there is often significant
stratification of nutrients in the soil,” says Beegle.
- Avoid atypical areas or sample them separately. “Odd” areas –
dead furrows, old fence rows, lime or manure stacking areas, wet spots,
etc. – may be too small to manage separately. “Don’t sample
them,” says Beegle. “One or two cores from these odd areas will just
contaminate the sample for the rest of the field.” If these areas are
large enough that you are able and willing to manage them separately,
take separate samples.
- Handle samples carefully. Collect soil cores in a clean bucket to
avoid contamination, crumble the sample cores and air-dry the sample.
Mix the cores thoroughly and take a subsample to fill the mailer you
send to the lab.
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The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection’s Farm Center recently issued a list of survival strategies
for producers facing tough times. Among the recommendations:
- Make sure all capital assets are used efficiently. Sell
machinery that is underused. Compare the cost of owning vs. renting
machinery and consider custom hire. Or, if it makes sense for your
operation to own machinery, consider doing custom work.
- Consider increasing on-farm fuel storage capacity to take advantage
of current prices.
- Improve labor efficiency: review employee workloads and reassign as
necessary. Ask family members to consider seeking part-time off-farm
work.
- Consider adding feed storage so, if prices drop, you can stock up on
supplies. The Farm Service Agency offers a low-interest loan program for
crop storage facilities, including hay storage.
- Examine all farm insurance costs. Consider higher deductibles if the
operation can handle the owner’s portion of the cost in event of a
loss. Also consider crop revenue coverage.
- Review energy usage and reduce waste to save on utility costs.
For more information or to talk to a professional advisor at the
Wisconsin Farm Center, call 800-942-2474 or visit www.datcp.state.wi.us/index.jsp
(keyword farm center).
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16.9 – Reading for the Rural Mainstreet
Index (RMI) in February. The RMI tracks economic conditions in rural
areas of 11 Midwestern/Great Plains states based on a survey of bank
CEOs. February’s RMI was down from 24.5 in January and the lowest
reading for the index since the survey began in 2005. For a more
complete summary, go to www2.creighton.edu/business/economicoutlook/mainstreet/index.php.
80 – Wild elk showing up for twice-a-day hay
feedings near Longview, WA, this winter. The Mount St. Helens
Preservation Society, a volunteer group doing the feeding, says the goal
is to prevent illnesses and starvation. But a bill in the Washington
legislature, backed by the state fish and wildlife department, would ban
the practice on the grounds it makes the elk too dependent on people for
food.
306,706 – People attending the four-day
National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY, earlier this month, the
second highest attendance in the show’s 44-year history. Next year’s
show will be held Feb. 10-13.
8,368 – Tractors sold in the U.S. during
January, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers’
monthly “Flash Report.” Compared to January 2008 figures, sales were
down 12.2%. To see the complete report, go to aem.org/Trends/USAg/PDF/0901US%20AG.pdf.
$458.1 million – Sales value of hay and
forages produced in Oregon in 2008, a 23.6% increase over the 2007
number, according to an Oregon State University report.
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North
Dakota
An extremely harsh winter is putting pressure on North Dakota hay
supplies, says Greg Lardy, extension beef specialist at North Dakota
State University (NDSU). “It varies from operation to operation,” he
says. “But a lot of people have been struggling, especially in the
central part of the state.”
Lardy notes that a cool, dry spring and drought conditions last summer,
particularly in north-central and southwestern North Dakota, set the
stage for the supply shortfall. “In some areas, forage production was
off by 50%,” says Lardy. “On top of that, we got an early start to
the winter. So a lot of people were forced to start feeding hay earlier
than they normally would. They used up their reserves.”
Heavier-than-normal snowfall throughout the winter compounded the
problem. “In some areas, we’ve heard reports that snowfall amounts
are three to four times greater than normal for this time of year,” he
says. “Even people who had enough hay put up have been having a tough
time getting into the fields where it’s stored.”
An online feedlist set up and maintained by the NDSU Extension Service
to help ranchers connect with hay suppliers is in need of more seller
listings. For more information, go to www.ag.ndsu.edu/feedlist/.
To contact Lardy, call 701-231-7660 or email gregory.lardy@ndsu.edu.
Oklahoma
There’s still a plentiful supply of grass hay in the state, but
alfalfa supplies are starting to dwindle as the winter progresses,
reports Glen Schickedanz, market news coordinator for the Oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF).
“The quality of grass hay is pretty variable,” says Schickedanz. He
reports that good-quality large square and round bales are currently
fetching $60-80/ton. “That’s about what it was selling for a year
ago at this time.”
Premium alfalfa prices have pushed up $10-15/ton from last year’s
level. Large square bales are currently bringing $170-180/ton.
ODAFF maintains a hay directory to link hay buyers and sellers.
“Currently we have about 120 listings on the directory,” says
Schickedanz. To access the directory online, go to www.oda.state.ok.us. You can also
get information on the hay hotline at 800-580-6543. Schickedanz can be
contacted at 405-522-3752 or glen.schickedanz@oda.state.ok.us.
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Why do you print incomplete and erroneous information from one
source on the dumping of horses (“Numbers Of Note,” Feb. 17 eHay
Weekly)? Horse dumping has been occurring for some time and Utah is
not alone. It began occurring when the ban on horse processing for meat
was halted by our government, due to pressure from animal rights groups.
Until the truth has been placed in its proper perspective by writers of
publications such as yours, there will never be an awareness. Why do you
choose to go along by blaming it on lack of feed and droughts?
Although this has exacerbated the problem, the root is an overabundance
of horses. I would appreciate an investigation and the proper diagnosis
applied to the problem, rather than a blame placed on feed supplies. If
there were all the feed in the world available, horse dumping would
continue.
Mike Turbeville
Six T’s Farm
Dresden, TN
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An educational program on managing hayland and pastures will be
featured at the Illinois Forage Institute, scheduled for March 5 at the
Del Curley Conference Center/Agri-King, Inc., in Fulton. A hay contest
giving producers opportunities to obtain analysis and receive
recognition for outstanding hay quality, as well as commercial exhibits,
a tour of the Agri-King lab facilities and the Illinois Forage and
Grassland Council’s forage spokesperson contest, will also be part of
the event.
Registration costs $15 until Feb. 24; $20 afterward. For more
information, call 815-772-4075 or go to web.extension.uiuc.edu/rockfordcenter/ag.html.
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Feb. 27-28 -- Indiana Cattle And Forage Symposium, Hilton
Indianapolis North, Indianapolis. Call 800-515-2333 or go to www.indianabeef.org.
March 2-4 -- Equine Forage Conference, Virginia
Cooperative Extension/Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, at various
locations. March 2 – Middleburg Agricultural Research and
Extension Center, Middleburg; March 3 – Elk’s Lodge No. 389,
Charlottesville; March 4 – Southwest Virginia 4-H Educational
Center, Abingdon. Contact Margaret Kenny at 434-292-5331 or makenny@vt.edu.
March 3-5 -- Intensive Alfalfa Training Seminar, Best Western
Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center, Sioux Falls, SD. Cost: $400. Contact
Laurie at 800-851-8810 (ext. 5712) or 651-765-5712 or email ljlehman@landolakes.com.
March 5-7 -- U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc. Convention, Capitol
Plaza Hotel & Expo Center, Topeka, KS. Phone 620-664-6297 or visit uschi.com/events.php.
March 5-April 23 -- Georgia-South Carolina Regional Forage Training.
Dates and locations: March 5 – Thomaston, GA; March 9
– Chester, SC; March 10 – Florence, SC; March 12 –
Abbeville, SC; March 17 – Dalton, GA; March 23 –
Ocilla, GA; April 23 – Carnesville, GA. Go to www.georgiaforages.com.
March 6-7 -- Appalachian Grazing Conference, Morgantown, WV.
Phone 304-293-6131, ext. 4231, or email becky.casteel@mail.wvu.edu.
March 6-7 -- Joint Maryland Cattlemen's Convention/Central Maryland
Hay & Pasture Conference, Four Points Sheraton, Hagerstown. Contact
Scott Barao at 410-795-5309 or sbarao@marylandcattle.org,
or Les Vough at 301-405-1322 or vough@umd.edu.
March 12 -- Forage Technology Conference, Michigan State
University Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. Contact Richard Leep at
616-915-6353 or leep@msu.edu.
March 17 -- Northeast Pennsylvania Grazing Conference, Tri-County
Church, DuBois. Call 814-375-1372, ext. 4.
March 24-26 -- Overton Grazing Workshop, Texas AgriLife Research
and Extension Center, Overton. Go to overton.tamu.edu/grazingschool.htm
or call Jennifer Lloyd at 903-834-6191. (Workshop repeated on March
31-April 2.)
March 31-April 1 -- Fencing For Controlled Grazing Systems, a
hands-on fencing school conducted by the Virginia Forage and Grassland
Council and Virginia Cooperative Extension. March 31 – Days
Inn, Raphine, VA; April 1 – Southern Piedmont AREC, Blackstone,
VA. Contact Gordon Groover at 540-231-5850 or xgrover@vt.edu.
April 17-19 -- Midwest Horse Fair, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Go to midwesthorsefair.com/.
April 21 -- Georgia 2009 Hay Production School, Stuckey
Auditorium, University of Georgia Griffin Campus. Go to www.georgiaforages.com.
June 21-23 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342 or email info@afgc.org.
Sept. 17-19 -- National Hay Association Convention,
Cadillac Jack’s Gaming Resort, Deadwood, SD. Contact Don Kieffer
at 800-707-0014 or visit www.nationalhay.org.
Sept. 29-Oct. 3 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
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