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Hay & Forage Grower
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by Rick Mooney, eHay Weekly Editor
Prices for high-quality organic hay are holding up in some parts of the
country. But demand for lower-quality product is out-and-out sluggish.
Robin Brekken of Robin Brekken Farms, Inc., near Crookston, MN, is
asking $1.10/point for organic alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mix hay with a
relative forage quality (RFQ) of 140 or above packaged in 3 x 3 x 8’
square bales. He also sells baleage in 3 x 3 x 6’ bales. “The price
has held there since July,” says Brekken, who notes dairies in
northeastern Indiana are his primary market. “Sales have been
steady.”
On the other hand, demand for lower-quality hay has all but disappeared,
Brekken reports. He slashed his price for hay under 140 RFQ to 80 cents
per point (from $1.10/point) in mid-February. “It’s been tough
moving it,” he says. “It seems like there’s an ocean of that kind
of stuff out there.”
Click
here to read the rest of this story.
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For growers who want to keep abreast of the cellulosic ethanol
market, Hay & Forage Grower will regularly gather stories on that
and other biopower issues at hayandforage.com.
Just visit hayandforage.com under the title, “More Fuel From
Forages.” Current stories report:
On a study saying that crop and forestry waste and dedicated energy
crops can sustainably replace nearly a third of gasoline use by the year
2030.
On an ag engineer’s discovery that shredding corn stover instead
of chopping it requires 40% less energy to gain access to more of the
material stored in the plant.
On British Petroleum (BP) and Verenium Corp., a science and
technology company, which are forming a 50-50 joint-venture company to
develop and commercialize cellulosic ethanol from non-food feedstocks.
On the announcement that Energy Grains Biomass, LLC, a Kearney,
NE-based supplier of corn stover and other cellulosic feedstocks used to
make biofuels, has signed a multi-year agreement to supply biomass to
NextStep Biofuels, Inc., a Gretna, NE, cellulosic ethanol development
company.
On a University of Illinois plant geneticist’s research on
doubling a corn plant gene to slow shoot maturation, yielding more
leaves and a larger stalk than normal. It should make good silage – or
be a good-yielding biomass energy crop.
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If you’re restocking hay supplies heading out of the winter, make
sure you’re not buying problems, advises University of Georgia (UGA)
extension forage specialist Dennis Hancock. “When you haven’t
produced the hay yourself, you likely won’t know much about what might
be hiding in those bales,” he says.
Hancock points to nitrate levels as one example. “In the past two
years, about 15% of the hay samples coming through our forage lab at UGA
have nitrate levels that exceed 4,500 ppm,” he says, noting that’s
above the level that can poison some classes of beef cattle.
“Certainly, some forages (millets, sorghum-sudangrass and even
bermudagrass) are prone to be high in nitrates. But even tall fescue and
alfalfa can occasionally have high levels. It’s another good reason to
insist upon a forage test.”
Another potential problem: The hay you bring onto your farm can carry
invasive weeds. “Even if the hay has been sprayed, the producer may
have used ineffective herbicides,” says Hancock. Similarly, the
producer may have used herbicides that have a long residual life. These
herbicides may hamper or eliminate the germination and growth of legumes
or other plantings made in the area where the hay was fed. “Make sure
you talk to your providers about their weed-control practices,” says
Hancock.
For more hay-buying tips from Hancock, go to the UGA forage site at www.georgiaforages.com.
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March 16 is the deadline for enrolling forage crops and pastures in
the Non-Insured Assistance Program (NAP). Unless hay crops are less than
5% of the total income produced on the farm, the hay crops are required
to be covered by NAP insurance to qualify for the Supplemental
Agricultural Disaster Assistance Program (SURE) and the Emergency
Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP). Pasture coverage is not necessary
to be eligible in those programs. If you have questions about the
program and coverages, contact a Farm Service Agency FSA office.
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$2.29 Average price for small square bales of
straw in the Midwest as of March 6, according to the “Weekly Hay
Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest.” The report is
compiled by Ken Barnett at the University of Wisconsin. For hay, Barnett
reports small square bale average prices were up by 1% compared to those
of the week before. Large square bale prices were up 12% and large round
bale prices were down 18%. To access the complete report, go to www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/hay_market_report.htm.
30 Loads of hay and straw sold at the Feb. 24 tested
hay auction conducted by Steffes Auctioneers, Inc., in Litchfield, MN.
Top sale price was $135/ton for a load of alfalfa (third cutting)
packaged in medium square bales. The hay tested 187 RFV and 220 RFQ. For
more information on the twice-monthly auction, go to www.steffesauctioneers.com.
63 Percentage of U.S. farmers using the Internet for
farm business in 2007, according to USDA’s “Rural Broadband At A
Glance – 2009 Edition.” By way of comparison, only 30% of farmers
were using the Internet for business purposes in 2005. To see the full
report, go to www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB47/EIB47.pdf.
$90 Average per-ton selling price of alfalfa hay in
Wisconsin as of mid-February, according to the state ag department.
That’s down $15 from January’s average price.
1,700 Miles of fenceline that must still be rebuilt
on livestock ranches in five Texas counties in the aftermath of
Hurricane Ike last fall. As part of a recently launched “Operation New
Fences” program, the state ag department is seeking donations of
fencing materials, hay bales, other livestock feed and cash for affected
ranchers. To learn more, go to www.texasagriculture.gov.
$71.2 billion Predicted U.S. farm income in 2009,
according to the “Farm Income and Costs: 2009 Farm Sector Income
Forecast Report” recently released by USDA’s Economic Research
Service (ERS). That’s a 20% drop from the preliminary farm income
estimates for 2008. ERS also estimates cash receipts for hay this year
will drop by 8.7%. The complete report is available at www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FarmIncome/nationalestimates.htm
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Kansas
Uncertainty over a variety of factors continues to puzzle buyers and
sellers alike as they attempt to establish prices for new-crop alfalfa,
reports Steve Hessman, market reporter for the USDA-Kansas Department of
Ag Market News in Dodge City, KS. “Things were just starting to get
going about a week or so before the stimulus bill was signed,” says
Hessman. “We had a couple of reports of agreements for
grinding-quality alfalfa in the corner (<120 RFV) at $130/ton. But since
the signing, everything has come to a halt. We’ve heard of bids at
$110/ton, but no sales. Nobody appears to be in a big hurry to do
anything right now.”
Concerns about a developing drought in the southwestern and central
parts of the state add to the confusion over the likely direction of
prices, says Hessman. “The situation here doesn’t show up on the
drought monitor map (www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html)
like it does for Texas and other areas,” says Hessman. “But
conditions are plenty dry, especially for topsoil.”
If it stays dry in the southwest, the major area of the state for
irrigated production, growers may have to make decisions about turning
on water for first cutting, he says. “Traditionally, a lot of growers
don’t like to waste water on the first cutting because nature is
supposed to take care of that,” he says. “That could crimp
production.”
Hessman reminds growers with hay to sell and pasture to rent or
livestock producers looking to buy hay or rent pasture to check out the
Hay and Pasture Exchange at www.kfb.org/hayandpasture/default.htm.
To contact Hessman, call 620-227-8881 or email steve.hessman@kda.ks.gov.
South
Carolina
High-quality hay remains in demand in much of South Carolina, reports
Ronald Adams, owner of East Carolina Hay Distribution in Camden. “It
was a tough year for making quality hay just about everywhere,” says
Adams, who brokers hay up and down the East Coast and also operates a
retail store in Camden. “As a result, demand and prices have held
right up there.”
The demand picture is different for lower-quality hay. “It’s
extremely soft,” says Adams. “There’s just so much of that kind of
hay out there. If you drive around anywhere out in the country, you’ll
see plenty of round bales sitting on the side of every road.”
Declining horse numbers have also put downward pressure on hay prices,
says Adams, who notes the Camden area is a training center for
thoroughbred and jumping horses.
“With the economy the way it is, people just aren’t keeping as many
animals,” he says. “A year ago, it was almost impossible to find a
spot for a horse at one of the stables. This year, there are a lot of
open stalls. And hobbyists are cutting back, too. Some got rid of their
animals altogether. Others are cutting back on the numbers they have.”
Net result, according to Adams, is that prices for stable-grade hay have
fallen off by 20-25% from year-ago levels. Looking ahead, he expects
prices to remain low this year. “The big factor is that we’ll have a
lot of carryover this spring,” says Adams. “As we get into the
growing season, people will still be buying hay, of course. They just
won’t be willing to give last year’s price for it.”
To contact Adams, call 803-803-432-5141 or email easthay@bellsouth.com.
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Commercial Cellulosic Biofuel Plant
Exists
FYI, and respectfully, I want to let you know that your biofuel article
is way behind the curve (Turning
Forages Into Fuel, March 3 issue). This is not your fault, because
Cello Energy LLC has deliberately and effectively stayed under the radar
till now, but it is currently in the process of surfacing.
We have construction of a commercial 20-million-gallon-per-year
cellulosic biofuel plant already complete here in Alabama, and it is in
the start-up phase. This is years ahead of any of the states and
companies you mentioned in your article. So, Alabama has jumped from
being #49 in most things, to being #1 in cellulosic biofuels
commercialization. What's more, the technology produces cellulosic
diesel, gasoline and aviation fuel, which has several major advantages
over ethanol.
David Bransby
Professor, Energy Crops and Bioenergy
Forage/Livestock Management
Auburn University
Ethanol Caused High Hay Prices
I would like to respond to Liz Turner’s letter in your March 3
newsletter (Expensive
Hay Hurts Livestock Industry
). Ms. Turner was right on when she stated that doubling hay prices in
the last year will force people to give up animals they enjoy and even
need. Hay producers now, in turn, will face difficulty in selling hay
that was very costly to produce.
What caused this doubling you might ask? It all started three or four
years ago when corn, which is the staple of most every mammal's diet,
was used for fuel production (ethanol). In the fall of 2007, nitrogen
fertilizer cost had risen to an all-time high of $270/ton. By the spring
of 2008, corn planting time in the height of the ethanol boom, nitrogen
had reached $720/ton in Louisiana and is the cheapest fertilizer used in
quality hay production. Corn requires more fertilizer than most crops.
It is my opinion that making ethanol out of corn has done as much to
cripple this country as the high fuel prices we were facing in the
beginning. Thanks for allowing me as a hay producer to express my views.
Delos Thompson
Folsom, LA
How Much Hay Do Cows Eat?
In response to Oregon’s Liz Turner, she is right, it really would not
be profitable to feed your cattle at a rate of 2 tons of feed per aum
(animal unit month). Unless I’m wrong, that translates to 130 lbs of
hay per day per cow or roughly 100 lbs too much, give or take a flake.
Maybe her cows are really big. I agree with everything else she said,
though.
Marty Lakey
Fall River Mills, CA
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The 2009 Pasture and Management workshops for beef producers get
under way later this month at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension
Center in Overton. The two, three-day workshops are designed to help
ranchers fine-tune their livestock and pasture operations in order to
reduce input costs and increase returns. The first workshop is scheduled
for March 24-26, while the second workshop takes place on March 31-April
2. Cost of the course is $350.
To see an agenda, go to overton.tamu.edu/.
For additional information, contact Jennifer Lloyd at 903-834-6191 or
email jllloyd@ag.tamu.edu.
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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 21 -- Louisiana State University Hay Production And Beef Cattle
Field Day, LSU Iberia Research Station, Jeanerette, LA. Visit lsuagcenter.com or call 337-276-5527.
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 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.
May 8 -- Southwest Dairy Day, Sierra Dairy, Dublin TX. Visit texasdairymatters.org or email
c-holley@tamu.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.
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.
Read Now
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