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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
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With prices for purchased protein spiking, reducing the amount of
leaf material lost during the alfalfa haylage harvest has taken on extra
importance at the Theunis family’s dairy (1,800-cow Tinedale Farms)
near Wrightstown, WI.
As one part of the strategy to reduce losses, Tinedale has started using
tarps to cover the 45’-long trailers they use to transport haylage
from fields to bunker silos. “Like a lot of farmers, we’ve always
resisted the idea of covering our trailers,” says Scott Theunis, who
heads up the cropping operation at Tinedale. “But with protein costs
going out of sight, we have to go all out to save as many leaves as we
can. We can’t feed it to the cows if it’s laying out on the highway
between here and the fields.”
Theunis says he was somewhat surprised at how quickly loads can be
covered in the field. “It really doesn’t take much time to put on
the tarp, maybe 30 seconds per load,” he says. “The big thing is to
park the truck facing into the wind and unroll the tarp from front to
back. If you do it the other way around, the wind can catch the tarp and
carry it right over the top. Then it gets to be a lot more work.”
Tinedale truck drivers like the new operating protocols. “They don’t
have to worry about getting stopped by the police or dealing with other
drivers who get mad when material blows out of the truck onto the
road,” says Theunis.
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by Fae Holin, Managing Editor, Hay & Forage
Grower
The Nebraska Alfalfa Marketing Association (N.A.M.A.) opened its own
forage-testing laboratory this month for several reasons, according to
its members. First, the hay growers are looking for test results they
can trust. Many current labs have provided results that have differed
greatly in relative feed value, causing price disputes, says Barb
Kinnan, N.A.M.A.’s executive director. But the N.A.M.A. lab will also
be used for educational purposes and to get accurate readings on the
quality of hay Nebraska growers will have to market.
For more on the new lab, why the University of Nebraska-Lincoln testing
lab shut down and how the National Forage Testing Association hopes to
upgrade its testing system, see the August issue of Hay & Forage
Grower.
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Whether you’re looking for proven
performance in a package that offers exceptional value or a tractor that
gives you the latest electronic conveniences and push button simplicity,
the new T6000 Series tractors from New Holland are built for you. T6000
tractors are a natural choice for haying operations and heavy loader
work. To learn more, see your local New Holland dealer or call
1-888-290-7377. www.newholland.com/na
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Testing hay for nutrient value is always a worthwhile investment.
But it’s especially important for livestock producers feeding hay
taken off Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands under USDA’s
emergency haying/grazing provisions, says Greg Lardy, North Dakota State
University (NDSU) extension beef cattle specialist.
“In many cases, much of the hay from CRP and wildlife lands harvested
in August will be deficient in protein and energy for most classes of
livestock,” says Lardy. He also points out nutritional quality can
vary dramatically with CRP hay. “Nutritive quality depends on when
the field was last hayed or grazed, timing of haying relative to forage
maturity and the proportion of alfalfa to grass, as well as
precipitation,” he says.
Lardy’s bottom line: Producers should use a qualified nutrition lab to
test CRP hay for protein, energy, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A
values. For more information, check out the NDSU publication
“Interpreting Composition and Determining Market Value,” available
at www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1251w.ht.
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The 2008 Colorado Hay Directory is now available on line at the
state department of agriculture Web site. Along with county-by-county
listings for Colorado hay growers, this year’s directory features a
section on hay-related products and services, tips for sampling hay and
a listing form for next year’s directory. To download a copy, go to
www.colorado.gov/cs/.
Click on Colorado Hay Directory.
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Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN, has announced it is
acquiring Dairyland Seed Co., Inc., a West Bend, WI-based business with
plant breeding programs in hybrid corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Dow
AgroSciences will also buy Bio-Plant Research, Camp Point, IL, a
business affiliated with Dairyland Seed. The primary focus of Bio-Plant
is licensing soybean, alfalfa and wheat germ plasm. Founded in 1907,
Dairyland Seed Co. has built an established dealer network throughout
the Upper Midwest. The company also has international sales in more than
20 countries. Global sales for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned
subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, are $3.8 billion. The closing is
expected later this month.
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Wet weather continues to frustrate just about anyone and everyone
connected with the hay business in the Midwest. Latest precipitation
casualty is the 2008 Ozark Empire Fair Hay Show in southwestern
Missouri. According to Missouri extension livestock specialist Eldon
Cole, entries in this year’s show were down nearly 30% compared to
previous years. Quality also suffered, he says.
“The weather appeared to be a roadblock to both quantity and
quality,” says Cole. “The wet May pushed harvest dates back 7-10
days for the legumes and mixed hays and that was enough to drop protein
and energy levels (of entries) down several points.”
John Staiger, Billings, MO, grabbed overall champion hay honors in the
show. His alfalfa-orchardgrass entry had a relative feed value of 129
and a protein level of 18% on a dry matter basis. Staiger’s hay also
scored 38 points out of 40 on a subjective evaluation of purity, aroma,
color and condition. He has now claimed the Ozark Empire Fair
championship three of the last five years.
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After reading about a new alfalfa processing plant opening in
Romulus, NY (“New Hay Drying Method Takes Four Hours,” Aug. 19
eHay Weekly), Dave Burkholder, Cozad, NE, wonders if its dryer
can be patented, and whether the hay will be storable.
“I would think that this would be difficult to patent because John
Caple had a tunnel dryer installed at Toledo, OH, in 1934 or ’35,”
Burkholder writes. “The dryer used coal for heat and was very
difficult to control, leading to many fires in the process. He switched
to a rotary drum dryer when they became available.
“I am sure that the computer controls available now would make a
tunnel dryer much easier to control than the l930s model. However, I
assume from the description of the harvesting method that these people
plan to keep the alfalfa in ‘long-stem’ form. It is our experience
that alfalfa, even dried down to 8% moisture, needs a chance to cure. It
is just damned near impossible to stop all metabolic activity by
removing moisture in a couple hours time. If they plan to compress the
alfalfa into a form that can be stored and transported economically
immediately behind the dryer, they have some real challenges ahead of
them.”
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Wyoming
Ervin Gara III hasn’t had to beat the bushes to find hay customers
this season. “We’re getting a lot of calls from people who have
never called us before,” says Gara, owner of Wyoming Haybusters,
Torrington, WY. “It’s getting tougher to find good hay.”
Gara grows alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixes under irrigation on 4,500
acres. He puts up most of his hay in 4 x 4 x 8’ square bale packages.
He got a late jump on the growing season this year due to wet weather.
“We didn’t get started on first crop until June 9,” he says.
“That’s about two weeks later than normal for us.”
With second crop, unusually high humidity for his part of the country
created some challenges. “It seemed like the humidity was high every
day,” says Gara. “We had a hard time baling at night. Our tonnage is
up compared to last year, but overall the relative feed value is down a
bit.”
With the late start on first crop and rain slowing the start of
third-crop harvest, Gara wonders if he’ll be able to get a fourth
cutting this year. “We’re usually able to take a fourth cutting on
1,000 to 1,500 acres,” he says. “But this has been an unusual
weather year. We’ll see.”
As for price, Gara says beef-cow hay is bringing $110/ton in his area
while dairy-quality alfalfa is bringing $140/ton, both up roughly
$20/ton over last year’s prices. Transportation costs have led to
changes in his marketing strategy. “In the past, we’ve shipped into
the Midwest and as far away as Pennsylvania,” he says. “But with
fuel costs so high, it’s getting tougher to go that far. We now
figure on adding $100/ton or more for shipping to Indiana and
$250-300/ton to Pennsylvania. People want hay, but they don’t want to
pay those kinds of trucking costs.”
To contact Gara, phone 307-532-4558 or send an e-mail to wyohaybusters@yahoo.com.
Mississippi
For most of the state, this year’s hay growing season compared to 2007
is a night-and-day difference, says Rocky Lemus, extension forage
specialist at Mississippi State University. “The southwestern part of
the state is still very dry and forage production is low,” says Lemus.
“But in other areas, it’s very much improved. Last year, many
producers had absolutely no yield. This year, many of them will have a
surplus of hay to sell.”
One result, says Lemus, is that livestock producers and horse owners in
need of hay should be able to find supplies locally rather than buying
from out-of-state sources. “With transportation costs so high, that
will save a lot of people quite a bit of money,” he says.
Lemus notes high fertilizer and fuel prices have led many Mississippi
producers to rethink harvest strategies. Typically, bermudagrass growers
take four cuttings annually, with a four-week interval between cuttings.
“This year, though, many are using less fertilizer and cutting about
every six weeks,” says Lemus. “That means some lower-quality hay,
but people are able to save a little on input costs.”
Other producers are addressing higher fertilizer costs by planting more
legumes like white and red clovers in their grass hayfields and
pastures. “We’re also seeing more soil testing,” says Lemus.
“People want to determine nutrient composition of their soil and what
they might need to compensate for.”
Mississippi State has developed a Hay Directory for linking up forage
buyers and sellers. Growers from Mississippi can list on the site at no
charge by going to msucares.com/crops/index.html
and clicking on Forages. Out-of-state producers with hay to sell should
contact Lemus at 662-325-7718 or rlemus@ext.pss.msstate.edu.
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Southeast Pennsylvania Crops Conferences and Penn State Cooperative
Extension will hold a hay baling/handling meeting at Dave Fink and
family’s Heidel Hollow Farm near Germansville on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
Hay growers will have an opportunity to see demonstrations featuring
large square balers, bale accumulators, stacker wagons and a large bale
processing machine. There will also be a session on the economics of
using this equipment.
For a brochure with more details on this free event, scheduled for
4:30-8:30 p.m., visit montgomery.extension.psu.edu/.
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Aug. 28 -- Hay & Farm Field Day, WW Ranch, Jacksonville, FL.
Phone 386-362-6447.
Aug. 29 -- Corn Silage Plot Tour, Dan Dryer Farm, Ottertail City,
MN. Phone Doug Holen at 888-241-0843.
Sept. 4 -- Kentucky Forage & Grassland Council Field Day,
Christian County. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Sept. 4 -- Purdue Forage Management Workshop, West Lafayette, IN.
Call Corey Gerber at 765-496-3755 or Connie Foster at 765-494-4773.
Sept. 5-6 -- Purdue Extension Grazing 102 Workshop, Rochester,
IN. Contact Fulton County Extension at 574-223-3397 or e-mail mkepler@purdue.edu.
Sept. 10 -- Institute For Ag Professionals Forage Day, UMore
Park, Rosemount, MN. Contact Dave Nicolai at 612-625-2778.
Sept. 17-20 -- National Hay Association Convention, Oak Brook
Hills Marriott, Oak Brook, IL. Contact Don Kieffer at 800-707-0014, or
visit www.nationalhay.org.
Sept. 18 – Alfalfa And Forage Field Day, University of
California’s Kearney Research and Extension Center, Parlier, CA.
Contact Dan Putnam at 530-752-8982 or dhputnam@ucdavis.edu.
Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Oct. 14-16 -- Southeastern Hay Contest, Sunbelt Agriculture
Exposition, Moultrie, GA. Guidelines and entry forms are available at
www.aces.edu/animalforage/documents/.
Oct. 23 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, Fayette County extension
office, Lexington. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Oct. 31-Nov. 2 -- Virginia Equine Extravaganza, Richmond Raceway,
Richmond. Learn more at www.equineextravaganza.com.
Nov. 6-7 -- 2008 BEEF Quality Summit, sponsored by
BEEF magazine, Antlers Hilton Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Visit
beefconference.com/.
Nov. 13-16 -- Massachusetts Equine Affaire, Eastern States
Exposition Center, West Springfield. Visit www.equineaffaire.com.
Dec. 2-4 -- California Alfalfa & Forage Symposium, Town & Country
Resort and Hotel, San Diego. Learn more at alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/2008AlfalfaConference/.
Dec. 5-6 -- 2008 Missouri Livestock Symposium, Kirksville.
Programs for horse, beef cattle, sheep, meat goat and forage producers,
and trade show. Details at missourilivestock.com, or call Bruce Lane at
660-665-9866 or Garry Mathes at 660-341-6625.
Jan. 15-16, 2009 -- Southwest Hay And Forage Conference, Ruidoso,
NM. Contact Gina Sterrett at 575-626-5677 or Justin Boswell at
575-840-9908.
Jan. 21-22, 2009 -- Heart Of America Grazing Conference,
Columbus, IN. Contact Jason Tower at 812-678-4427 or towerj@purdue.edu.
June 21-23, 2009 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342 or email info@afgc.org.Calendar.
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