|
Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
Weather
Send Questions & Comments To...
Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly,
hfg@hayandforage.com
For information on Hay & Forage Grower, contact:
Neil Tietz, Editor, ntietz@hayandforage.com
or
Fae Holin, Managing Editor, fholin@hayandforage.com
For specific information from past issues of eHay Weekly and
Hay & Forage Grower, click on hayandforage.com, and use the search
function in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
|
|
|
|
Roundup Ready alfalfa is very much a hot topic at annual meetings
and conferences. This time the National Hay Association hosted a Sept.
20 panel discussion with combatants arguing whether Roundup Ready
alfalfa should again be put on the market.
First to speak: Mark McCaslin of Forage Genetics, the company licensed
by Monsanto to develop Roundup Ready alfalfa. Phillip Geertson was next.
He’s the semi-retired Greenleaf, ID, conventional seed producer
who’s the major plaintiff in the federal lawsuit that resulted in the
ruling to pull the transgenic crop off the market. Also part of the
discussion was Andrea Huberty, USDA-APHIS project coordinator for the
Roundup Ready alfalfa environmental impact statement (EIS), which is
required before the transgenic alfalfa’s fate is determined.
Two of the issues McCaslin and Geertson disagree on: the amount of
evidence on the safety of the transgenic crop if used in food or feed
and whether Roundup Ready alfalfa could be grown without contaminating
conventional alfalfa. The contamination issue led to further discussion
on whether growers could or would abide by isolation rules designed to
prevent the movement of Roundup Ready alfalfa into non-Roundup Ready
fields.
For specifics, please visit hayandforage.com's top story. And
don’t be afraid to add your own comments or ask additional questions
at the end of the story in our article-commenting format.
|
Winners of this year’s World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl will
be announced tomorrow (Wednesday) during a noontime luncheon at World
Dairy Expo in Madison, WI. According to contest officials, there were
250 entries this year in six categories – dairy hay, dairy haylage,
standard corn silage, brown midrib (BMR) corn silage, commercial hay and
commercial baleage. First-place prize for each category is one year’s
free use of a forage harvesting or feeding piece of equipment or
$2,500-5,000 in coupons toward purchase of new equipment.
Contest entries will be on display in the Arena Building on the expo
grounds throughout the week. Seminars focusing on the latest in forage
and dairy nutrition research will be held in conjunction with the
contest. For a schedule, visit www.worlddairyexpo.com/.
This year marks the Superbowl’s 25th anniversary. Organizing partners
for this year’s event include AgSource Cooperative Services,
DairyBusiness Communications, Hay & Forage Grower, U.S. Dairy
Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences and World Dairy Expo.
|
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
|
Conventional wisdom has long held that it’s best to not harvest
alfalfa during a critical period running four to six weeks before the
first killing frost. But with more disease-resistant and winterhardy
alfalfa varieties and current favorable hay prices, some growers are
rethinking the old advice, notes Penn State University forage specialist
Marvin Hall. He advises considering the following when deciding whether
to take a fall cutting during the so-called critical period:
Age of stand. Older alfalfa stands are more likely to winterkill
or suffer winter injury following a fall harvest than younger alfalfa
stands.
Variety. Alfalfa varieties with moderate resistance to several
diseases and sufficient winterhardiness have greater tolerance to stress
from fall harvesting than less disease-resistant or winterhardy
varieties.
Soil pH and fertility. Adequate soil pH and fertility minimizes
the risk of fall harvesting by allowing alfalfa plants to develop
properly and be healthier.
Soil drainage. Alfalfa on well-drained soils is less likely to
suffer winter injury than alfalfa on poorly drained soils.
Harvest frequency. A harvest schedule that doesn’t allow the
alfalfa plant to flower once during the season predisposes it to winter
injury.
Dry conditions in August. Dry weather, especially in August,
causes alfalfa to store excess root energy reserves, making it more
winterhardy.
Fall cutting height. Leaving 6-8” of stubble when taking a fall
harvest will reduce the risk of winter injury.
|
If late-summer alfalfa seedings fail this fall due to root rot
diseases related to excessive rainfall, it should be safe to plant
alfalfa again next spring, say Doo-Hong Min and Richard Lee, Michigan
State University crop and soil scientists. The key factor: Compounds
that cause autotoxicity do not accumulate in seedlings. Min and Lee
recommend replanting the failed seedings with varieties offering
resistance to Phytophthora and Aphanomyces root rot and treated with
Apron XL. They also advise reseeding as early as possible in spring. For
a more detailed discussion of root rot problems related to excessive
fall precipitation, go to www.ipm.msu.edu/.
|
For all of the attention it has received, ethanol is at best a
transition step in the development of biofuels, according to the
director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Speaking at a
meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
in Bismarck, ND, last week, Nobel Prize winner Steve Chu noted that
researchers are increasingly looking at grasses and waste materials to
make gasoline and diesel-type fuel, rather than ethanol. “I think you
have to go to this generation of biofuels so that it is not seen as a
direct competition with food,” said Chu, who won the Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1997. “Its energy inputs are far less than growing corn,
which is a very heavy energy-intensive crop due to the fertilizer, all
the tillage, everything else.”
For one grower’s view on the future of cellulosic ethanol, and for the
opportunity to comment on it, click here.
|
California-Arizona
High-quality alfalfa dairy hay continues to command a solid price in the
western U.S., and all indications show that the situation will remain as
is at least until mid-2009. “Prices are as steep and as strong as they
have ever been,” says Wayne Gordon, hay broker and owner of Chino Hay
Market, Parker, AZ. In Arizona and southern and central California, he
says, top-quality dairy hay is selling for around $220/ton. “That’s
if you can find any,” says Gordon, who has been in the hay business
for 28 years. “Most of this year’s crop is already spoken for.”
Dan Putnam, University of California extension forage specialist, says
he’s heard reports of top-end dairy hay selling for as high as
$280/ton. “It’s phenomenal,” he says. “After record-high prices
for hay last year, many people thought things would moderate this year.
But it sure hasn’t worked out that way.”
A shortage of irrigation water has been a key factor limiting supply,
according to Putnam. He says water-use restrictions imposed this spring
led growers in parts of California to dry down alfalfa fields after just
one or two cuttings. Normally, irrigated growers in many areas of
California take up to eight cuttings/year. “For some people, it was a
matter of making a painful decision to stop irrigating crops like
alfalfa or cotton so they could continue watering perennial crops (like
almonds or grapes),” he explains. “Many growers decided to plant
wheat or safflower in place of alfalfa because prices for those crops
were high and they also require less water and a short-term commitment
to irrigation.”
Steady growth in the western dairy industry will also continue to put
pressure on hay supplies, says Putnam. He notes milk production in
California is up by 2-3% over 2007 production.
Gordon expects prices to remain at or near current levels at least until
the new crop starts coming in next spring. “Nobody really knows what
happens at that point,” he says. “There are too many things that
could come into play. If grain prices drop, dairy producers will likely
reformulate their rations and use less alfalfa. If we get an easy winter
in the dairy areas, we could come out of the winter with more hay on
hand. The hay price doesn’t go up or down by itself. There are always
other things going on that will affect it.”
To contact Putnam, phone 530-752-8982 or dhputnam@ucdavis.edu. To reach
Gordon, phone 928-662-4848 or e-mail chinohaymarket@hotmail.com.
New Jersey
Kevin Reynolds brokers hay throughout the U.S. to high-end horse owners
and racehorse trainers. This year, he says, it’s been a challenge to
find the good-quality product they want. Yet he’s optimistic.
“I see the alfalfa market correcting itself,” says Reynolds, of
Reynolds Hay & Straw, Bordentown, NJ. “I think there’s going to be a
lot more alfalfa next year than this year.”
“The supply is out there,” he maintains. “It’s a matter of
getting it at a price that everybody can live with. So far we really
haven’t had any problems passing on the increases, but nobody likes
them. My concern going forward, though, is how much longer are the end
users going to be able to keep taking the increases they’re paying?”
“Everyone has a limit.”
Nearly a quarter century ago, Reynolds was a standard-bred racehorse
trainer and driver frustrated with the type of hay and straw available.
“So I started going out and getting it myself,” he remembers.
“When people saw the quality of the hay and straw I was bringing in,
they asked me where I got it and if I could get more. It just took off
from there.”
Brokering hay from his area of the country has changed dramatically,
says Reynolds, who runs the business with his wife, Dorothy.
“Twenty-three years ago it was easier to find good-quality hay and
straw in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But they started growing
more houses than hay or straw. We had to keep expanding further and
further to get the kind of quality and volume we needed.” Over 20
years ago, Reynolds started getting hay from Washington, Idaho, New
Mexico, Nevada and northwestern Canada.
“What we’re doing is chasing the weather to find out who has had the
best growing season and that’s where we pull our hay from.” It goes
to horses and alpacas in the entire Northeast, along with the Florida
and Kentucky horse markets.
|
"Quality – A Solution To Rising Costs" is the theme of
BEEF magazine's third-annual BEEF Quality Summit, set for
Nov. 6-7 at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs, CO. The program will
feature some of the nation’s top experts, providing participants with
background and insight into the considerations, tools and practices that
can help producers optimize beef quality as a competitive tactic in
these challenging times.
Attendees will have the opportunity to network with producers, vendors
and others in the industry and learn how to increase the value of
beef-cattle production. Full conference details are available at www.beefconference.com.
|
Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Oct. 14 -- Cell Grazing: What, Why And How Webinar, 6-7 pm PT.
Free from Ranching For Profit School. To register, visit www2.gotomeeting.com/register/431268188.
Oct. 14-16 -- Southeastern Hay Contest, Sunbelt Agriculture
Exposition, Moultrie, GA. For guidelines and entry forms, visit www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/events/SEHC/SEHC.html.
Oct. 16 -- Arkansas Extension Clover Pastures Field Day, Larry
Wells Farm, Drasco, AR. Contact Cleburne County Extension at
501-362-2524.
Oct. 16 -- Arkansas Extension Clover Establishment Field Day,
Larry Wells farm, Drasco, AR. Contact Cleburne County Extension at
501-362-2524.
Oct. 23 -- Arkansas Extension Clover Establishment Field Day,
Steve Swenson farm, Shirley, AR. Contact Van Buren County Extension
at 501- 745-7117.
Oct. 23 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, Fayette County extension
office, Lexington. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Oct. 23 -- Arkansas Extension Clover Pastures Field Day, Steve
Swenson Farm, Shirley, AR. For more information, contact Van Buren
County extension at 501-745-7117.
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 And Western Alfalfa
Seed Conference, Town & Country Resort and Hotel, San Diego. Learn
more at alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/+symposium/2008/.
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 -- Southwest Hay And Forage Conference, Ruidoso, NM.
Contact Gina Sterrett at 575-626-5677 or Justin Boswell at 575-840-9908.
Jan. 21-22 -- Heart Of America Grazing Conference, Columbus, IN.
Contact Jason Tower at 812-678-4427 or towerj@purdue.edu.
Feb. 3-4 -- Idaho Hay And Forage Conference, Burley. Call Glenn
Shewmaker at 208-736-3608.
Feb. 3-4 -- Mid-America Alfalfa Expo, Buffalo County Fairgrounds,
Kearney, NE. Contact Barb Kinnan at 800-743-1649 or nebalf@cozadtel.net.
Feb. 19 -- Kentucky Alfalfa Conference, Cave City Convention
Center.E-mail glacefie@kyu.edu or
raysmith1@uky.edu.
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.
|
|
|
To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: Unsubscribe
To subscribe to this newsletter, go to: Subscribe
You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email#
To get this newsletter in a different format (Text or HTML),
or to change your e-mail address, please visit your profile
page to change your delivery preferences.
For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our
Customer Service Department at:
Hay and Forage Grower
A Penton Media publication
US Toll Free: 866-505-7173
International: 847-763-9504
Email:hayandforage@pbinews.com
Penton Media | 249 W. 17th Street | New York, NY 10011
Copyright 2008, Penton Media. All rights reserved. This article is
protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property
laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated,
transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly,
in any medium without the prior written permission of Penton Media.
|
|
