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Hay & Forage Grower
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or
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Managing Editor, fholin@hayandforage.com
For specific information from past issues of eHay Weekly and
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By Neil Tietz, Editor, Hay & Forage Grower
A smaller-than-expected 2009 hay crop is one of several factors that
will put upward pressure on alfalfa prices this winter and perhaps
throughout the year, predicts Matt Diersen, South Dakota State
University ag economist.
In its January
Crop Production report, USDA estimated 2009 alfalfa production at 71
million tons. That number was a million tons lower than USDA’s
previous estimate made in October. Production of other hay, estimated at
80.8 million tons in October, was revised to 76.4 million tons in
January.
“There’s less hay to go around than we thought,” says Diersen.
USDA’s Dec. 1 hay stocks estimate – 107 million tons – was the
highest in five years. “But it’s not a burdensome level by any
means, and most of it is concentrated in just a few states,” he says.
States with significantly higher Dec. 1 stocks compared with
year-earlier amounts include the Dakotas, Kentucky, Missouri, Idaho,
Oregon and Wyoming.
A January cold spell that probably increased hay usage in the North,
recovering milk prices and the relative cost of hay and competitive
dairy ration ingredients are additional factors pointing to higher
alfalfa prices in coming months. Hay prices have dropped dramatically
from their 2008 peaks, but corn and soybean meal are still fairly
expensive. Despite lower prices, alfalfa hay supplies are tight, and
Diersen expects them to stay that way. Returns from growing corn and
soybeans continue to look good, and alfalfa seedings were down slightly
last year, so alfalfa production isn’t likely to increase much.
“I don’t think the overall hay price is going to go up, but I think
the alfalfa price will be better in 2010,” he says.
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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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The
draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Roundup Ready
alfalfa, released by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) in mid-December, continued to generate plenty of
interest last week. Among the key developments:
- APHIS announced dates and locations for four public meetings
where interested parties can comment on the draft EIS. Following
today’s session in Nevada, meetings will be held at the Buffalo County
Fairgrounds Exhibit Center in Kearney, NE, from 3-6 p.m. on Feb. 3
(during the Mid-America Alfalfa Expo); at the Holiday Inn Haymarket in
Lincoln, NE, on Feb. 4 from 4-7 p.m. (as part of the Nebraska
Sustainable Agriculture Society Annual Healthy Farms/Rural Advantage
Conference); and at the APHIS Conference Center in Riverdale, MD, on
Feb. 9 from 4-7 p.m. The deadline for submitting comments
on the draft EIS is Feb. 16.
- The U.S. Supreme Court announced last Friday that it will review a
federal district court order that halted plantings of Roundup Ready
alfalfa in 2007 pending completion of USDA’s environmental impact
statement. Monsanto Company
filed a petition with the Supreme Court last October. The company argues
that the 2007 injunction should not have been ordered without first
holding an evidentiary hearing and that the ban imposed unnecessary
restrictions and costs on alfalfa hay and seed growers. For more from
Monsanto and the organization that filed the original lawsuit against
Roundup Ready alfalfa, the Center for Food Safety, visit hayandforage.com.
- Forage Genetics International reported that visits to a Roundup Ready Alfalfa Web site
aimed at educating producers about the transgenic crop and the
public comment process are on the upswing. “We have seen the number of
visitors to the Web site triple since the USDA published its
environmental impact statement, with a current average of 600 visits per
week,” says Mark McCaslin, Forage Genetics president.
- American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology
(AFACT) distributed a press release urging farmers to show their
“commitment to technology” either by submitting written comments or
attending one of the APHIS public hearings and asking five to 10 other
farmers to do likewise. According to the AFACT Web site, the group was
organized by farmers frustrated by the loss of safe and valuable
management tools with no scientific justification and no economic
compensation. AFACT is headed up by dairy farmers Carrol Campbell,
Winfield, KS, and Liz Doornink, Baldwin, WI.
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The 2009 Ohio Forage
Performance Trials Report from Ohio State University is now
available.
The report is a summary of performance data for commercial varieties of
alfalfa, orchardgrass, tall fescue, annual ryegrass and teff in tests
planted from 2006 through 2009 across three sites in the state: South
Charleston, Wooster and North Baltimore.
Downloadable spreadsheet files of all the Ohio trials, and links to
forage performance trials in other states, are also found on the site.
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 Know where to find the best alfalfa? It’s Syngenta for
varieties like Genoa, three-time Forage Superbowl grand champion and
new 6475 with PLH resistance. For these and other Syngenta alfalfas,
see your Garst seed advisor, Golden Harvest dealer or NK retailer.
The Syngenta logo is a trademark of a Syngenta Group
Company.
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“Unprecedented wetness.” -- University of Missouri
Extension climatologist Pat Guinan, who noted that even before a
late-December 2009 snowstorm, average precipitation throughout the state
had topped 106” for 2008 and 2009. In 115 years of weather records,
the only time back-to-back years were almost as wet was in 1927 and 1928
when 102” of precipitation fell. Source: University of Missouri
Cooperative Media Group.
“Until hay growers are convinced the dairies are really on a road
to recovery and there is profitability again in the hay industry, they
are not going to be inclined to put in more hay.” -- California
hay market analyst Seth Hoyt, who predicted a 10% reduction in alfalfa
acres in California and likely in Idaho in the story, Fewer
Hay Acres, Stronger Prices, in the January issue of Hay & Forage
Grower. Hoyt is author of The Hoyt Report, a weekly
newsletter.
“They may give a little lip service to our problem, but I don't
really think there is much concern.” -- California alfalfa grower
Tom Ellis offering his viewpoint on the Obama administration’s
approach to national energy policy. Source: California Farm Bureau
Federation Ag
Alert.
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Iowa
Supplies remain tight, so look for prices on top-end dairy hay to hold
their own or even bump up slightly as the winter progresses, says Dale
Leslein, auctioneer at eastern Iowa’s Dyersville
Hay Auction.
“With the exception of a few weeks in September, we had disastrous
haymaking conditions in this part of the state throughout the growing
season,” he says. “People weren’t able to put up a lot of
high-quality hay. Now we’re seeing a lot of top-end hay coming in from
Canada and the West, but the supplies in those areas aren’t good,
either.”
Leslein, also a hay grower, reports that premium dairy hay, packaged in
large square bales, has been bringing around $180-200/ton in recent
weeks. Even large round bales of dairy-quality hay stored outside were
bringing $140-165/ton. “That’s unheard of,” he says.
Tough times in the dairy industry will likely continue to act as a brake
on hay-price increases. “The milk-price situation has improved a
little bit in the last month or so,” he says. “But a lot of people
had to borrow a lot of money just to stay in business. If we got back to
$20/cwt milk, hay prices would go up substantially.”
Near-term, local hay supplies could be pinched further later this month
as dairy goat herds in the area begin to freshen seasonally. “We have
a very large dairy goat population here,” he says. “A lot of dairy
goat producers will be in the market looking for dairy hay. They don’t
have a corn-silage option like dairy cattle producers do. As a result,
they can’t be outbid. They absolutely need to get the hay.”
Grass-hay prices have been moving in the opposite direction in recent
weeks. In October and November, grass hay in round bales was bringing
$185/ton. By the end of the year, though, the price had dropped off by
$40-50/ton. “With the delayed corn and soybean harvest, a lot of
farmers weren’t too interested in moving their hay,” says Leslein.
“But once the corn harvest wrapped up, there were more semis available
for transport. We saw a lot of hay coming in, and prices started to
soften up.”
The downward pressure is likely to continue in the weeks to come,
Leslein adds. “The whole country is full of rained-on, damaged hay.
Prices will be slipping some more.”
To contact Leslein, call 563-581-5119 or email sayhaykid4iowa@aol.com.
Oklahoma
A Christmas Eve blizzard, followed by an extended cold snap in early
January, has put some pressure on hay supplies in parts of the state,
reports Scott Dewald, executive vice president of the Oklahoma
Cattlemen’s Association. Even so, most state livestock producers
should find plenty of hay available for getting through the remainder of
the winter feeding season.
“Some of our members have reported that they’ve already fed more hay
than normal for this time of year,” says Dewald. “That’s mostly in
the northeastern part of the state where they got a little bit more snow
from the blizzard. That doesn’t mean they’re out of hay. But if we
have a few more of these kinds of weather events, it could pose some
problems.”
Overall, most of the state’s livestock producers came out of the
growing season with ample hay supplies. “We’ve had years going into
the winter, where people had only put up one hay crop. This year,
though, we had very good production over the summer.”
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture/USDA Market News report for Jan.
7 noted that demand for grass hay increased during the previous two
weeks due to the winter weather. The report characterized grass hay
movement and prices as “steady.” In central and eastern Oklahoma,
premium-quality large square bales were selling for $65-80/ton, while
large rounds were bringing $50-70/ton and small squares, $70-80/ton.
Good-quality large rounds brought $45-60/ton.
Producers looking for hay to purchase, or who have hay to sell, can
access a state hay directory by going to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture
Web site or by calling the Hay Hotline at 800-580-6543.
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 New from National Alfalfa &
Forage Alliance and Hay & Forage Grower
The Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistance Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties
2010 Edition is now available in print and online. National Alfalfa
& Forage Alliance produced and Hay & Forage Grower published the
2010 Varieties Guide. The 2010 Varieties Guide is well-regarded within
the alfalfa seed industry as the most accurate listing of alfalfa
varieties ratings available. Click here for the
2010 Alfalfa Varieties Guide.
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“Equipped For Success” is the theme for the 2010 Minnesota
Forage Days to be held at five locations throughout the state
during the week of Feb. 8-12.
University of Wisconsin agronomist Dan Undersander will be the featured
speaker at each of the five meetings. Undersander will discuss equipment
strategies to speed hay/haylage drying in the field and research-based
seeding-date recommendations for perennial legume and grass forages.
Other agenda topics will vary by location. The meeting schedule: Feb. 8
at the Holiday Inn in Detroit Lakes, Feb. 9 at the Cromwell Pavilion in
Cromwell, Feb. 10 at Joseph’s Restaurant in Avon, Feb. 11 at the
Southwest Research Center in Lamberton and Feb. 12 at the UCR Heintz
Center in Rochester.
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Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI, will be the site for the
2010 Symposium and Annual Meetings of the Midwest Forage Association
(MFA), the Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin
(PNAAW) and Wisconsin Custom Operators (WCO). Dates for the event are
Jan. 26-27.
As in past years, this year’s symposium will include general and
concurrent sessions. Topics on the agenda include 2010 financing,
on-farm evaluation of forage harvesting equipment, making and managing
silage piles, field efficiency and cost-effectiveness of harvesting
forage and more.
For more information, visit the MFA Web site.
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Jan. 19-21 -- North Carolina Forage And Grassland Council
Mid-Winter Conferences, on efficient management of diverse forage
resources, starting at 1 p.m. at three locations: Jan. 19, Nash
County Extension Office, Nashville; Jan. 20, Union County
Extension Office, Monroe; Jan. 21, Mountain Research Center,
Fletcher. Register by Jan. 10 by calling 919-552-9111. For details,
call 800-896-4857 or 919-609-9824.
Jan. 20 -- Southern Maryland Hay And Pasture Conference, Izaak
Walton League Center, Waldorf. Visit the University of Maryland Forages
Program Web site.
Jan. 21 -- Tri-State Hay And Pasture Conference, Garrett
College, McHenry, MD. Get details.
Jan. 21-22 -- I-29 Dairy Conference, Best Western Ramkota Inn &
Conference Center, Sioux Falls, SD. See a conference
brochure.
Jan 25-28 – Virginia Forage And Grassland Council’s Winter
Conferences at four locations. Jan. 25 – Brandy Station
Fire Hall, Brandy Station; Jan. 26 – Mrs. Rowe’s Country
Buffet, Mt. Crawford; Jan. 27 – Southern Piedmont Ag Research
and Extension Center, Blackstone; Jan. 28 – Wytheville Meeting
Center, Wytheville. Contact Margaret Kenney at 434-292-5331 or download
the brochure.
Jan. 28-29 -- North Central Ohio Dairy Grazing Conference,
Buckeye Event Center, Dalton. For more information, contact the
Small Farm Institute or download the
brochure.
Feb. 2-3 -- 2010 Mid-America Alfalfa Expo, Buffalo County
Fairgrounds, Kearney, NE. For details, visit www.alfalfaexpo.com, call Barb
Kinnan at 800-743-1649 or email her at nebalf@cozadtel.net.
Feb. 9-11 -- World Ag Expo, Tulare, CA, starting at 9 a.m. each
day. Cost: $12/day. Visit www.worldagexpo.com.
Feb. 16-17 -- Professional Crop Producers Conference, (Forage
Program is Feb. 17), Holiday Inn Harrisburg/Hershey, Grantville, PA.
Contact Marvin Hall at mhh2@psu.edu or
download program.
Feb. 16-17 -- Idaho Hay And Forage Conference, Best Western
Burley Inn, Burley. Contact Glenn Shewmaker at 208-736-3608 or gshew@uidaho.edu.
Feb. 18-20 -- 2010 Wisconsin Grazing Conference, Hotel Mead,
Wisconsin Rapids. Visit www.grassworks.org or contact
Heather Flashinski at 715-289-4896 or grassheather@hotmail.com.
Feb. 25-28 -- 8th Annual Pennsylvania Horse World Expo, Farm Show
Complex, Harrisburg. Visit the Expo Web site.
March 4-6 -- U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc. Annual Convention,
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Wichita Falls, TX. Visit www.uschi.com.
March 5-6 -- Maryland Cattle Industry Convention/Hay And Pasture
Conference, Hagerstown Hotel and Convention Center, Hagerstown.
Contact Les Vough at vough@umd.edu or
301-405-1322.
March 10-11 -- Wichita Falls Ranch & Farm Expo, JS Bridwell Ag
Center, Wichita Falls, TX. Visit www.wichitafallsranchandfarmexpo.net,
call 866-685-0989 or email dales@bwtelcom.net.
March 27 -- Winter Regional Horse Owner Program, Cloquet Forestry
Center, Cloquet, MN. Registration deadline is March 24. Register online.
April 8-9 -- Hay Production School, Spence Field, Moultrie, GA.
Details at www.georgiaforages.com.
June 21-23 -- American Forage And Grassland Council Annual
Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO. Details at www.afgc.org.
Sept. 5-7 -- National Hay Association Annual Meeting, Griffin
Gate Marriott Resort, Lexington, KY. Watch for details on the NHA Web site.
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