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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
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Stocks of all hay stored on farms totaled 22.1 million tons on May
1, up 2% from those of a year ago, according to a USDA report last week.
USDA also reports that hay disappearance from Dec. 1, 2008, to May 1,
2009, totaled 81.6 million tons compared with 82.5 million tons for the
same period a year earlier.
Hay stocks decreased from last year’s levels across most of the Great
Plains and Rocky Mountain states. Texas and Oklahoma had the largest
decreases due in part to lower hay production last year. Dry weather
last fall and winter resulted in poor pasture conditions that increased
supplemental hay feeding. Hay stocks also declined significantly in
North Dakota and Montana due to a combination of lower 2008 production
and spring snow storms that prolonged the hay feeding season.
In the eastern U.S., higher production, mild winter weather, increased
precipitation and lower cattle inventories led to higher May 1 stocks.
Tennessee registered the largest increase – 157% higher than that of a
year earlier. In Alabama and Kentucky, stocks were up 150% from those in
May 2008. On the other end of the country, stocks in many Western states
were higher due mostly to demand decreases in California, Oregon and
Washington.
To see the numbers for individual states, click
here.
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Whether you’re looking for proven
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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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While temperature, humidity, wind speed and soil moisture can all
play roles, sunlight is by far the most important weather factor
affecting hay drying rates, says University of Nebraska extension forage
specialist Bruce Anderson.
“Research has shown as much as a 10-fold increase in drying rate as
solar radiation changes from heavy cloud cover to full sunlight,” says
Anderson. “No other factor affected drying rate even half as much.”
He suggests these measures for using sunlight to its full advantage
during the drying process:
- Watch weather reports and plan to cut hay during sunny weather.
“This may be stating the obvious,” says Anderson. “But it's not
always easily done with hectic spring field work.”
- Spread cut hay out in as wide a swath as possible. Exposing more hay
to direct sunlight enables it to absorb as much energy from the sun as
possible to evaporate moisture. “This may cause a little more sun
bleaching than thick windrows,” says Anderson. “But fast drydown is
usually more valuable than green color.”
- Mechanically condition hay and turn it gently after the top gets
dry. Net result: the most moist hay beneath gets exposed, assisting
drydown.
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The University of Wisconsin’s Team Forage is looking for agents
and cooperators to participate in the 2009 Alfalfa Yield and Persistence
Project.
According to Fond du Lac County extension crops and soils agent Mike
Rankin, participating doesn’t require a great amount of work. However,
some oversight on quality control is needed to obtain accurate data.
On-farm scales are convenient, but not a requirement.
For a copy of protocols, click
here. For a summary of the project in 2008,
click here. For additional information, email Rankin at michael.rankin@ces.uwex.edu.
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Farmers interested in transitioning into organic agriculture or
expanding organic acres already in production have until May 29 to sign
up for the special "organic conversion assistance" component of USDA’s
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
In the program, six core conservation practices (conservation crop
rotation, cover cropping, integrated pest management, nutrient
management, rotational grazing and forage harvest management) are being
made available to transitioning organic farmers on a nationwide basis.
Individual states can then add a variety of "facilitating" conservation
practices specific to the type of agriculture in their region.
Program funding is capped at $20,000/farm/year and $80,000/farm in any
six-year period. Organic farmers can opt to compete in the special pool
with the tighter payment caps or in the regular EQIP pool for which the
six-year cap is $300,000.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition provides a summary of the
Organic EQIP Program at sustainableagriculture.net.
For more information about USDA’s National Organic Program, go to www.usda.gov, choose the subject
“Agriculture,” then, under “Related Topics,” click on “Organic
Certification.”
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University of Wisconsin agronomists have updated the
Establishing and Managing Switchgrass fact sheet. Recent
additions include the latest weed management and establishment
information from trials conducted throughout Wisconsin as well as yield
estimates from seven locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and
Illinois. Download the fact sheet at www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/switchgrass.pdf.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHs) network
is looking for volunteers to measure precipitation throughout the
country. To learn more about the network and volunteering and/or to see
data collected for your area, go to cocorahs.org.
The 2008 Summer Annual Grass Report provides details on the
forage yield of numerous varieties of five warm-season annual grasses in
Kentucky during 2007 and 2008. The report is available on the University
of Kentucky’s Web site, www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage, under
“Forage Variety Trials” and the 2008 heading.
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strengthens performance. Protect alfalfa from competitive insects with
long-lasting Silencer from MANA.
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Iowa
Oxford grower Bill Stockman makes no apologies asking top dollar for the
12,000 small square bales of grass-alfalfa horse hay he puts up on 400
acres each year. Currently, he’s getting around $200/ton from mostly
repeat buyers. “If you go to the local auctions, the going price is
probably $130-140/ton,” he says. “But I guarantee that my hay is
mold-free and dust-free. People are willing to pay for that.”
Occasionally, Stockman says, he’ll get a “random” call from
someone looking to buy hay. “If they balk at the price, I respectfully
point out that I don’t intend to have the cheapest hay. I intend to
have the best hay.”
Being fussy during harvest is the key to delivering the kind of product
his customers want, Stockman says. He mows with a sickle mower to hold
down the amount of dirt likely to end up in bales. On the second day, he
teds the hay to dry more evenly. “Tedding also helps hold the color
and that still sells hay, too,” he says. “If I have to ted it twice,
I’ll do that, too.”
Stockman, who operates under the business name Stockman’s Hay Shed,
also avoids selling any hay to horse customers that’s been rained on.
“If it rains after the hay’s cut, I roll it up (in large round
bales) and sell it as economy hay to my beef customers or feed it to my
own cows,” he says.
He also stores all of his small squares inside on pallets. “A lot of
my customers want just 20 or so bales at a time,” he says. “They
understand that storage and the handling represent expenses to me.”
Stockman can be contacted at 319-530-7980.
Ohio
The bottom has dropped out of the straw market in Ohio and neighboring
states, reports E.J. Croll, Oak Harbor, OH. “It’s as dead as I’ve
ever seen it,” says the owner of Croll Farms, Inc., and past president
of the National Hay Association.
He reports per-ton prices for wheat straw in his area are currently at
$90-100 and likely headed downward. “I’ve heard a lot of people are
still dropping their prices with hopes of moving it before this year’s
harvest (mid-July in his part of the country),” says Croll.
Stalled-out demand is the major factor, he says. Croll sells most of his
straw to horse stables in the Lexington, KY, area. “A lot of them are
cutting back on expenses wherever they can. So instead of cleaning
stalls and rebedding every two or three days, they’re cleaning them
every five or six days.”
Demand from dairies is down, too. “They aren’t bedding as often, and
they’re not feeding as much straw as filler in their rations.”
Along with putting up 300 acres of orchardgrass-alfalfa hay in small
square bales last year, Croll harvested 24,000 small squares of straw.
“A lot of the straw is still in the barn.”
Croll plans to sit on the carryover for now. “We just have to hope
that demand picks up next winter.”
As a result, he doesn’t expect to make many straw bales this summer.
“We’ll probably just chop it up and blow it back onto the field,”
he says. “I suspect a lot of other growers in this area will likely be
doing the same.”
Contact Croll at 419-898-2496.
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Alfalfa growers in northern New York should be on the lookout for
alfalfa snout beetles, says Keith Waldron, New York State Integrated
Pest Management Program.
The beetles are root-feeding weevils found in nine northern counties.
The adults are mottled gray in color, humpbacked, ½” long and do not
fly. All are females. During this time of year, Waldron notes, adult
alfalfa snout beetles search for new alfalfa fields to lay their eggs.
Once they find a suitable location, adults feed on alfalfa foliage and
lay eggs that hatch into root-feeding larvae. While adult feeding can
trim the tops of alfalfa and other hosts, the vast majority of plant
death comes from root loss caused by beetle larvae feeding.
The larvae, Waldron explains, are legless, white and ½” long.
They’re found shallow in the soil when very small, but move deep
(18-24”) during mid-July to late August. In September, the large
larvae move back up to the top 8”. They do most of the taproot
severing in September and October. After development is completed, they
then move deep in the soil to overwinter.
Waldron notes that beetle damage in spring looks similar to winterkilled
alfalfa, with plants failing to green up.
Other alfalfa snout beetle hosts include red clover, dock, wild carrot,
quackgrass and white clover. Beetle control is best achieved with a
three-year rotation of alfalfa with a row crop. Non-host crops include
corn, wheat, oats, soybeans and potatoes. Insecticides are not
recommended for alfalfa snout beetle control.
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The University of California-Davis will host the 2009 Alfalfa and
Small Grains Field Day on Thursday, May 21. It will be held at
UC-Davis’ Agronomy Field Headquarters on Hutchinson Road in Davis.
The field day’s alfalfa segment will focus on varieties, pest
management, Roundup Ready alfalfa, weed identification and control,
deficit irrigation trials and other forage trials. Pre-registration is
not required and there is no fee to attend.
For more information, contact extension forage specialist Dan Putnam at
530-752-8982 or dhputnam@ucdavis.edu.
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May 26 -- University Of Tennessee Forage Conference, West
Tennessee Research and Education Center, Jackson. Sponsored by
University of Tennessee Extension and Tennessee Forage and Grassland
Council. Conference starts at 3:30 p.m. Contact Brian White at
731-968-5266 or dwhite3@tennessee.edu, or Gary
Bates at 865-974-7208 or gbates@utk.edu.
June 10-11 -- Four-State Dairy Nutrition And Management Conference,
Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA. To register online or download a
conference brochure, go to www.wasa.org or contact the Wisconsin
Agri-Service Association at 608-223-1111, or Dale Thorsen at
319-267-2707.
June 11 -- University Of Tennessee Beef And Forage Field Day,
Blount Unit/East Tennessee Ag Research and Education Center,
Knoxville. Call 865-974-7201 or go to east.tennessee.edu.
June 21-23 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342, email info@afgc.org or
visit www.afgc.org/mc/page.do.
June 25 -- University Of Tennessee Tobacco, Beef And More Field Day,
Highland Rim AgResearch and Education Center, Springfield. Call
615-382-3130 or visit taes.utk.edu/event/show.asp?which=403.
June 27 -- 2009 Equine Field Day, University of Kentucky’s
Maine Chance Equine Campus, Lexington. Phone 859-257-2226 or go to www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/EquineFieldDayFlieremail.pdf.
July 23 -- University Of Kentucky All Commodity Field Day, UK
Research and Education Center, Princeton. Details forthcoming at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
July 29-30 -- U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center Getting More From
Forages Conference, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.dfrc.ars.usda.gov/forages/Program.html
for more details.
Aug. 1-2 -- Florida Small Farms And Alternative Enterprises
Conference, Osceola County Heritage Park, Kissimmee. Go to smallfarms.ifas.ufl.edu/floridasmallfarmsconference/index.htm.
Aug. 27 -- 2009 Arlington Agronomy And Soils Field Day,
University of Wisconsin Agricultural Research Station, Arlington.
Download the program at ipcm.wisc.edu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=WqM8AqDKW9o%3D&tabid=114&mid=669.
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.
Oct. 29 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, University of Kentucky
Research and Education Center, Princeton. Details available soon at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.
Nov. 4-6 -- DHI-Provo 55th-Annual Herd Management Training
Conference, Provo, Utah. Details forthcoming at www.dhiprovo.com.
Nov. 10-11 -- BEEF Quality Summit, Stoney Creek Inn, St.
Joseph, MO, hosted by BEEF magazine. Visit beefconference.com.
Nov. 18-19 -- McCook Farm And Ranch Expo, Red Willow County
Fairgrounds, McCook, NE. Visit mccookfarmandranchexpo.net
or call 866-685-0989.
Dec. 2-4 -- Western Alfalfa And Forage Symposium, Grand Sierra
Resort Casino, Reno, NV. Go to alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/+symposium/2009/.
Dec. 13-16 -- Fourth National Conference On Grazing Lands, Reno,
NV. Presented by the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. Visit www.glci.org.
Feb. 16-17, 2010 -- Idaho Hay And Forage Conference, Best Western
Burley Inn, Burley. Contact Glenn Shewmaker at 208-736-3608 or gshew@uidaho.edu.
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