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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
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Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly, at
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or
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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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A major snowstorm’s to blame for the extended March 3 deadline to
comment on the Roundup Ready alfalfa draft environmental impact
statement (EIS), says Mike Pina, spokesperson for USDA’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Bad weather prevented the last of four public hearings from being held
last Tuesday, Feb. 9. The majority of people who spoke at the first
three hearings, held earlier this month at ag-related conferences in
Nevada and Nebraska, were for deregulation of the transgenic crop, Pina
says.
The purpose of the hearings: To discuss whether APHIS has correctly
surmised that Roundup Ready alfalfa would cause “no significant impact
on the human environment.”
Since the comment period opened Dec. 18, more than 1,700 comments from
growers, industry representatives and others in the general public have
been recorded on the online
comment docket.
For more information, see Roundup
Ready EIS Comment Deadline Is Extended
and More
About Roundup Ready Alfalfa. Or review the draft EIS and, if you
haven’t already, submit a
comment.
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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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Kellie Hinman and Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, WY, captured
first-place honors in the alfalfa hay category of the first-ever World
Ag Expo Forage Challenge. Winners were announced during last week’s
expo in Tulare, CA.
Dave Roberti, Roberti Ranch, Loyalton, CA, finished in second place in
the category, while David King, King Productions, Malin, OR, finished
third. Kelly Callahan, Royal Turf Farms, Royal City, WA, was the top
finisher in corn silage, while Nelson Faria, Faria Dairy, Royal City,
WA, won the brown midrib silage category. In all, 39 producers from
seven western states entered the contest.
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The clock is ticking for producers in northern areas of the U.S.
who want to add or improve forage species in existing pastures via frost
seeding, according to Iowa State University (ISU) Extension forage
agronomist Steve Barnhart. He says February and early March are the best
times for frost seeding.
Barnhart explains that frost seeding involves spreading forage seed on
existing pastures during late winter or very early spring while the
ground is still frozen. Freeze-thaw cycles then provide shallow coverage
of the seed, which helps shield it from early spring rains. “Frost
seeding is the easiest method to add new forage legumes or grasses to
pastures, and is likely the least-expensive method, as well,” he says.
To increase the chances of success, he recommends spreading seed on the
thinnest pasture sod areas first and on areas where bare soil has been
exposed due to heavy grazing or disturbance. “One common misconception
about frost seeding is that spreading the seed on top of snow works
best,” he says. “The goal of frost seeding is to get seed on bare
soil. This is more effective and more safely done without snow cover.”
For more information about frost seeding, Barnhart recommends the ISU
Extension bulletin Improving
Pasture By Frost Seeding.
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 Know where to find the best alfalfa seed?
Isn’t it obvious? Syngenta offers top quality, high yielding alfalfa
varieties like 6422Q, a new industry leader with top quality forage for
dairies with an outstanding winterhardiness in a full FD4 variety. To
learn more, 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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An Automatic Load Securing System for tying down hay and straw
bales on trailers was recognized as one of the Top 10 Agricultural
Innovations at last week’s World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA.
Manufactured by Stinger, Inc., Haven, KS, the hydraulically operated
system features two straps suspended between a stationary bulkhead at
the front of the trailer and a sliding bulkhead at the rear. To secure
the load, the operator presses a switch, which activates hydraulic
cylinders. To release the system for unloading bales, another button is
pushed to reverse the process. The system can be run from the cab of the
truck, the loader tractor or both.
Read more about the automatic
load securing system. See the entire
Top-10 listing.
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The Organic Alfalfa Management Guide, an online
bulletin from Washington State University Extension, details the
considerations and procedures for converting from conventional alfalfa
to organic production. Along with explaining the organic certification
requirements, the 18-page guide covers monitoring pests and weeds,
fertilization considerations, economics and more. Get a
copy.
Compared to 2008, the value of alfalfa hay sales in Oregon slipped
by nearly 33% – to $184 million – last year, according to a recent
report from Oregon State University Extension. The value of all
commodities produced by the state’s farmers and ranchers in 2009 was
an estimated $4.1 billion, down nearly 15% from the previous year’s
total. See the complete
report.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is threatening to pull
approximately $8.7 million/year in federal highway funding in
Pennsylvania unless the state shores up regulations governing farm
vehicles on roadways. According to a recent report from the Pennsylvania
Farm Bureau (PFB), the new regulations would, among other things, make
it illegal for anyone under 18 years old to operate farm tractors and
trucks under certain circumstances and would also require drivers of
some farm trucks or tractors to maintain the same records and logs kept
by commercial trucking companies. The new regulations would kick in
“soon after March 1.” See the PFB fact
sheet.
Iowa State University Extension publishes periodic reports on hay
prices at auctions and sale barns in Iowa and neighboring states. See
the January
report.
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 Hay & Forage Grower – Digital
Edition
Get all of the features of Hay & Forage Grower print editions
with all the interactive capabilities only available online.
Here's a sneak preview of this issue's highlights:
- 2010's Forage Equipment
- Debating the EIS
- Pinpoint Hay Moisture
- Handle Silage Safely
- Weather Outlook
Click here to view
the digital edition.
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Arizona
The dairy industry downturn in 2009 had a major spillover effect for the
retail horse hay business in the Phoenix metro area, says Steven Bales,
commercial hay grower and owner of Bales Hay Sales, a retail outlet in
Buckeye.
Bales makes hay on 2,500 acres of irrigated ground. Along with alfalfa,
he also puts up ryegrass, teff, bermudagrass and a premium
ryegrass-alfalfa mix that he calls Paca Verde (Spanish for green bales).
He packages all his hay in 100-lb, three-strand bales. He markets about
80% of his hay to horse owners (mostly through the retail outlet) and
the remaining 20% wholesale to local dairies.
“Starting in late February and March last year, the dairies started
buying hand to mouth instead of contracting for the entire crop,” says
Bales. “With the demand falling off, supplies built up. That meant a
lot of growers who normally sell wholesale to the dairies started going
after the horse retail market. That set off a scramble for customers.”
One result, says Bales, is the price he was charging for premium alfalfa
hay dropped off from a high-water mark of $10/bale in 2008 to $7.50/bale
last summer. Medium-quality hay was selling for around $5/bale.
Bales’ retail sales began picking up last fall. “A lot of the
customers starting coming back. They found they could get hay cheaper,
but it wasn’t the quality they wanted.” Wholesale sales to Texas and
New Mexico also helped Bales whittle down his inventory. “Now we’re
on track to clean everything out by the end of March when we start
cutting for the year.”
Bales believes demand will continue improving in 2010, due mostly to an
improvement in milk prices. “In the last month or so, we’ve been
getting quite a few phone calls from dairy producers wanting to talk
about contracting,” he says. “Everybody seems to be really cautious
about discussing price, though.”
For retail horse hay, he expects the supply will be tight enough to push
up prices by around 20% from last year’s lows.
For more information, go to the Bales Hay Sales Web site. To
contact Bales, phone 623-386-2988 or email sbales@hughes.net.
Kentucky
Staying flexible on payment plans is one way to hang on to good
customers in tough economic times, says hay grower Mark Flynn, Flynn
Farms of Kentucky near Louisville.
Flynn grows fescue, orchardgrass, timothy, orchardgrass-alfalfa and
seeded bermudagrass hay on 450 acres with his father and partner, Ron.
In a typical year, they put up 15,000 small square bales weighing 55 lbs
and 1,000 round bales weighing 900 lbs. Their primary market is local
horse owners, Flynn says.
After working on a mostly cash-on-delivery basis for years, they started
offering customers a monthly payment with a zero-interest option about
two years ago. “People really appreciate it,” says Flynn, who
estimates that about 15% of customers take them up on the offer. “For
some people, coming up with the whole amount at once can be difficult.
This gives them a little breathing room. It also helps us spread our
cash flow throughout the year. We know we’re going to have income
coming in every month.”
The Flynns just started offering seeded bermudagrass hay to customers
last year. They planted 10 acres of Sungrazer Plus last July. “We
wanted to get a warm-season grass into our cropping pattern. Our goal is
to even out the number of bales we’re harvesting throughout the
summer. The way it is now with our cool-season grasses, we have a big
boom in production in April and May and then again in September. But
things really slack off in June, July and August.”
Customers who bought the Flynns' bermudagrass last year were pleased
with it, he says. “It’s higher in protein than timothy and
orchardgrass. This year, we’re planning to plant 30 acres of it.”
To learn more, call Mark Flynn at 502-664-6032 or visit the Flynn Farms of Kentucky Web
site..
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Grasses in hay and grazing systems, the impacts of poor-quality
feed in rations and assessing corn molds are topics to be discussed at
the Chippewa Valley Forage Council's annual spring seminar, Feb. 23 at
Four Corners Restaurant in Cadott.
The seminar will run from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration begins at
10:30 a.m. Its cost, including lunch and materials, is $15. For more
information, call 715-726-7950.
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Dave Pratt, a livestock and range advisor with University of
California Cooperative Extension, will be the keynote speaker at the
26th-annual Southwest Missouri Spring Forage Conference. The conference
will take place Feb.23 at the University Plaza Hotel in Springfield.
Along with Pratt’s noon-time presentation, entitled “Is Your Farm a
Job or a Business and Are You Working for a Lunatic?” the conference
will feature breakout sessions on topics ranging from contract grazing
and pasture rental contracts to a comparison of grazing concepts.
More than 30 companies and organizations will have representatives
available to discuss products and services at its trade show. Get more conference
information.
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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 2 -- Illinois Forage Institute, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Kankakee
Community College, Kankakee. Visit www.illinoisforage.org .
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 16-17 -- Professional Dairy Producers Of Wisconsin Annual
Business Conference, Alliant Energy Center, Madison. Download
a brochure.
March 25 -- Georgia-South Carolina Piedmont Forage And Grassland
Council’s Annual Meeting, Just More Barbecue, Pendleton, SC. Get info..
March 26 -- 2010 Forage Production Seminar, Bremer Bank, Amery,
WI. Call 715-485-8600 or visit polk.uwex.edu.
March 27 -- Winter Regional Horse Owner Program, Cloquet Forestry
Center, Cloquet, MN. Registration deadline is March 24. Register online.
March 30-April 1 -- Pasture And Livestock Management Workshop,
Texas AgriLife Research & Extension Center, Overton. Call
903-834-6191 or get
info.
April 8-9 -- Hay Production School, Spence Field, Moultrie, GA.
Details at www.georgiaforages.com.
April 14-15 -- Kentucky Grazing School, University of Kentucky
Research & Education Center, Princeton. Preregistration required. See
a brochure.
May 13 -- Legume Management In The Southeast: Field Day And Pasture
Walk, Central Georgia Research & Education Center, Eatonton. Details
forthcoming at the University
of Georgia Forage Web site.
June 21-23 -- American Forage And Grassland Council Annual
Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO. Details at www.afgc.org.
Aug. 9-10 -- Kentucky Grazing School, Woodford County Extension
Office, Versailles. Preregistration required. See
a brochure.
Sept. 1-4 -- National Hay Association Annual Meeting, Griffin
Gate Marriott Resort, Lexington, KY. Watch for details on the NHA Web site.
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