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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
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Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly, at
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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
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Top-flight hay and forage growers will be in the spotlight at World
Dairy Expo in Madison, WI, tomorrow – Wednesday – when winners in
the 2009 World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl are announced at a
noon-time luncheon.
This year’s contest attracted 324 entries from 25 states, reports Dan
Undersander, contest organizer and University of Wisconsin extension
forage specialist. Entries are up by more than 100 from the 2008 number.
“It’s hard to say if weather was a factor in the increase,” says
Undersander. “We had both good and bad haymaking conditions all over
the country this year.”
Cash awards totaling more than $17,000 will be conferred in six
categories: dairy hay, dairy haylage, corn silage (standard), corn
silage (BMR), commercial hay and baleage. A grand champion forage
producer and top first-time entrant will receive cash awards, too.
“We’re also giving two Quality Counts awards this year, one in
grass/legume, the other in corn silage,” notes Undersander.
The new quality awards are based on factors other than those used to
determine overall rankings in the contest. The award for grass/legume is
based on ash content. The range in ash content of the samples entered
this year was 9.6-18.2%, with an average of 12.1%. “That’s just
about the average stated at labs in the Midwest,” says Undersander.
The quality award for corn silage is based on starch availability.
As in past years, winning entries from this year’s Superbowl will be
on display at the east end of the Arena Building on the World Dairy Expo
grounds throughout the event. The expo ends on Saturday.
World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl managing partners are 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.
Results from this year’s contest will be posted online at hayandforage.com immediately
following tomorrow’s awards luncheon. We’ll also have more Superbowl
news and other news from World Dairy Expo,
including coverage of the Forage
Toolbox seminars taking place throughout the week, in upcoming
editions of eHay Weekly.
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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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Light sales volume at the first two central Minnesota
quality-tested hay auctions of the 2009-2010 season made it difficult to
get a very dependable read on the likely direction of hay prices heading
into fall, reports Dan Martens, University of Minnesota extension
educator for Stearns, Morrison and Benton counties.
“It was fairly typical for the September sales,” he says. “People
are still busy with harvest and other fieldwork in many areas and
haven’t really turned their full attention to buying and selling hay.
Things will pick up as we go along.”
At the two September sales, Martens notes, there was a large spread of
prices for 10 loads of hay testing 151-175 for relative feed value (RFV)
– from $70 to $160/ton. The price spread for large square bales
testing 126-150 RFV was a little tighter at $70-130/ton.
Looking ahead, Martens expects the volume of hay moving through the
auction during the season will be similar to previous years. Overall, he
says, hay growers throughout central Minnesota were able to put up a
pretty good hay crop in 2009. “In a couple places, growers were hurt a
little by dry weather and insect pressure. But for most of the season,
people were able to put up a lot of their hay crop without rain damage.
We also had some timely rains in July and August that supported good
third- and fourth-crop yields.”
Martens says dairy economics will likely have a big impact on the area
hay market in months to come. “As long as the price of milk drags
below the cost of production, dairy farmers will generally be more
cautious in what they’re paying for things, including hay.”
The Sauk Centre tested auctions are conducted by Mid-American Auction,
Inc. on the first and third Thursdays of each month from September
through May. Sales begin at 12:30 p.m. Sale loads need to be on site no
later than 10:30 a.m. of sale day to allow time for testing at the
Stearns County DHIA Laboratory. The next auction is scheduled for
Thursday, Oct. 1.
For more information on the Sauk Centre auction, contact Mid-American
Auction at 320-760-2979 or Martens at 320-968-5077 or marte011@umn.edu. To track auction
prices throughout the season, go to www.stearnsdhialab.com.
Martens’ summary of the auctions will be posted at blog.lib.umn.edu/efans/cropnews.
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As we reported in our Texas state report last week, De-Go-La
Resource Conservation and Development, Inc., Victoria, is looking to
line up hay supplies for livestock producers in 16 counties of the
drought-stricken Coastal Bend region of the state.
Specifically, De-Go-La, a nonprofit agency sponsored by USDA-NRCS, wants
to hear from growers/sellers in Texas and neighboring states who have
high-quality grass hay from this year’s cuttings, packaged in round
bales. De-Go-La’s target price is up to $50/bale including
transportation.
For more details, contact Kim Santos at 361-570-7138 or admin@degolarcd.org.
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 Use
our site to search for forage production tips! Plus, read what other
growers are doing to stay profitable.
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Packing and covering silage to hold down spoilage losses takes
patience, planning and an attention to detail. Two Midwestern dairymen
who are successful at storing ensiled forages are featured in slideshow
presentations on hayandforage.com.
Just click on Silage
Slideshows.
Each presentation takes but a few minutes to view. For more information,
detailed stories are linked just below each slideshow. If you want to
comment on Hay & Forage
Grower’s newest efforts, please use our article-commenting
form beneath each slideshow.
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Ten years ago, kleingrass, a fast-growing, high-yielding
warm-season perennial, covered only 2,000 acres of farmland in
California and was just gaining popularity as an export dairy feed to
Korea and Japan. Today, although acreage is down 12% from the previous
year, kleingrass is grown on nearly 13,000 acres in California's
Imperial Valley, says Seth Hoyt. Hoyt is a former USDA-ARS market
reporter who writes a weekly email newsletter on the Western hay market.
Hoyt was asked what the kleingrass market looks like in the current
challenging economic climate.
"The breakeven for growing kleingrass in the Imperial Valley is around
$90-100/ton and premium kleingrass hay has been trading mainly in that
range for most of the summer. The main market is Korea, but some goes to
Japan," says Hoyt. In 2008, the hay sold for about $163/ton, according
to statistics from the Imperial County Ag Commissioner's office.
"While kleingrass acreage will come down, it probably won't be drastic
because of the lack of crop options. A few growers will increase
sugarbeet acres because of strong sugar prices. However, due to
contracts and capacity, this will only be a limited acre increase.
"It looks like sudan hay acres will increase because this was the
strongest hay market in the Imperial Valley this year. Others will plant
wheat or vegetables and gamble on the markets. The current wheat market
is not very good."
It's a challenging time for growers, Hoyt says.
For information on The Hoyt Report and how to subscribe to the
48-times/year newsletter that can be emailed, faxed or downloaded, visit
www.thehoytreport.com.
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$2.74 Projected average per-gallon
retail price for diesel fuel in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of
2009, according to the Department of Energy’s September Short-term
Energy Outlook. For details, go to
www.eia.doe.gov.
21 Percent of households reporting having
only a cell phone, according to a study by economists at North Carolina
State University. That compares to 19% of households with a landline
phone only and 60% of households with a cell phone and a landline.
28 Agricultural-related fatalities in
Indiana last year, according to the recently released 2008 Indiana Farm
Fatality Summary from Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and
Health Program. In 2007, there were 24 ag-related deaths in the state.
Eight of the 2008 deaths were attributed to tractor rollovers, while
five were caused by machinery crushings or pinnings. To see the entire
report, go to cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu.
68,317 Number of people attending last
year’s World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI. The 2009 version of expo
begins today and runs through Saturday (see Forages Grab Center Stage At Dairy Expo).
250,000 Estimated minimum number of dairy
cows that would have to leave the national dairy herd to bring the milk
supply into balance with demand, according to economists at the Dairy
Institute of California.
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Maryland
An overabundance of lower-quality hay is pulling down prices in the
state, reports Les Vough, University of Maryland extension forage crops
specialist emeritus.
“We had a lot of rain early on in the growing season,” says Vough.
“For first crop, we only had two of those four- to five-day windows
where people could get hay put up at the proper stage of maturity
without it getting rained on. As a result, a lot of what was put up
either got rained on, was overmature or both. On top of that, we also
had a fairly large carryover of low-quality hay in parts of the state
from last year. There’s just an awful lot of run-of-the-mill hay out
there looking for a home.”
Market prices started tailing off in late summer. “Two or three years
ago, you could sell just about any kind of small square bales for
$5-6/bale,” relates Vough. ”Now the going price is more like
$2.50-3/bale.”
High-quality hay, on the other hand, continues to fetch a good price.
“Watching the local auction reports out of Maryland and southern
Pennsylvania, you’ll see an average price of around $125-150/ton. But
occasionally you’ll see a load of high-quality hay going through,
bringing $200/ton or more. If you have quality hay, there is a market
for it.”
To contact Vough, call 301-405-1322 or send an e-mail to vough@umd.edu.
South Carolina
The 2009 hay-growing year got off to a great start with plenty of
moisture in most parts of the state, reports John Andrae, Clemson
University extension forage specialist. “That was especially true in
the southern part of the state,” he says. “There they had an
excellent spring and early summer and were able to put up an excellent
crop.”
Problems developed later in the growing season for producers in the
upper part of the state, where most of the cattle are located, and also
in the Coastal Plains region. “It started turning dry in mid-June and
has stayed that way since,” says Andrae. “It really hurt yields on
the later cuttings of bermudagrass in those areas and virtually
eliminated the summer fescue cutting. Those are typically smaller
harvests anyway, but they’ll be even smaller this year.”
Even with the regional weather glitches, Andrae says there should be an
ample supply of hay to meet demand statewide. “After three straight
years of drought leading up to this year, we’ve seen a substantial
decrease in our beef cow numbers. That alone will take some pressure off
the supply.”
Looking ahead, Andrae says cattle producers are turning their attention
to fall pastures. “We’re hoping for enough rain to get fall forages
overseeded successfully.”
To contact Andrae, call 864-656-3504 or email jandrae@clemson.edu.
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“Improving Your Odds of Profitability” will be the focus of
this year’s Western Alfalfa and Forage Conference, Dec. 2-4 in Reno,
NV.
“To salvage profitability through these tough times, alfalfa growers,
pest control advisers, crop consultants and the industry as a whole are
scrambling for every trick in the book,” says Steve Orloff, University
of California extension field crops farm advisor and conference program
chair. “It’s more important now than ever for producers and others
in the alfalfa industry to gather the latest research and market
information at this annual gathering.”
The conference is sponsored by cooperative extension services in six
Western states: California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona and
Washington. Presentations specifically tailored to improving industry
profitability include:
- Reducing inputs to improve profits: Good idea or bad idea?
- Adapting cutting management to market conditions.
- Marketing your hay in a low-price year.
- Surviving difficult times: Lessons learned from those who have and
have not.
The conference will also cover a wide range of topics related to
production, economics, pest management and irrigation. Other issues to
be addressed include: industry trends, bioenergy crops, alternative
forage crops such as teff, and water and drought issues.
A new feature this year is a hands-on diagnostic workshop on Dec. 2.
Small groups of participants will rotate through stations covering soils
and fertilizers, diseases and nematodes, weed identification and
management, and insect identification and integrated pest management.
As in past years, there will also be a commercial exhibit area featuring
more than 60 exhibitors with information on equipment, seed, support
products and services.
Because of the difficult economic times, the registration fee for this
year’s conference has been reduced to $125. Hotel rooms at the Grand
Sierra Resort Hotel are available at the discounted rate of $44/night.
The fee for the diagnostic workshop is $50.
Online registration and mail-in registration forms are on the conference
Web site at alfalfa.ucdavis.edu. The early
registration deadline is Nov. 2. Late registration (until Nov. 23) is
$150. Registration at the door is $175. Hotel reservation information is
also available on the Web site.
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Oct. 9 -- Cover Crop Field Day, Smith Oak Farm,
Reynoldsville, PA. Contact the Jefferson Conservation District at
814-849-7463 or go to jeffersonconservation.com/.
Oct. 23-24 -- Virginia Tech University’s 2009 Mid-Atlantic
Grass-Finished Livestock Conference, Holiday Inn Conference Center,
Staunton, VA. Contact Margaret Kenny at 434-292-5331 or makenny@vt.edu.
Oct. 29 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, University of Kentucky
Research and Education Center, Princeton. Visit www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.
Oct. 29 -- LSU AgCenter Calhoun Research Station Field Day,
Calhoun, LA. Innovative uses for forest and forage biomass will be
featured. Contact Michael Blazier at 318-927-2578 or mblazier@agcenter.lsu.edu.
Nov. 4-6 -- DHI-Provo 55th-Annual Herd Management Training
Conference, Provo, UT. Details at www.dhiprovo.com.
Nov. 18-19 -- McCook Farm And Ranch Expo, Red Willow County
Fairgrounds, McCook, NE. Visit mccookfarmandranchexpo.net
or call 866-685-0989.
Dec. 1-2 – Manitoba Grazing School, Victoria Inn, Brandon. Call
204-622-2006.
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.
April 8-9, 2010 -- Hay Production School, Spence Field, Moultrie,
GA. Details at www.georgiaforages.com.
June 20-22, 2010 -- American Forage And Grassland Council Annual
Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO. Details to come
at www.afgc.org.
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