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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
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Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly, at
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By Rick Mooney
Editor, eHay Weekly
Hay growers and other farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley will
be getting more irrigation water this year than they were expecting just
a few months ago. But water shortages, resulting from a three-year-long
drought and court-ordered measures aimed at protecting fish species in
the state’s Delta Region, remain a major concern.
Earlier this month, the state Department of Water Resources and the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation announced that 2010 water allocations would be
increased to 40% for contractors south of the Delta. That’s up from
30% in April and 5% at the end of 2009. An above-normal mountain
snowpack and persistent spring storms made it possible to increase the
allotments, say officials.
“It’s better than it was, but we’re still not back anywhere close
to normal,” says Rick Staas, CEO of the San Joaquin Valley Hay Growers
Association, a cooperative with 275 members in the state’s Central
Valley. “A lot of growers are still very nervous about their
allotments.”
Water shortages, coupled with low hay prices in 2009, are a major factor
behind forecasts that alfalfa acreage in California in 2010 could drop
to its lowest level in 60 years. By some estimates, alfalfa plantings in
the state this year could be as low as 850,000 acres. “I’ve been in
this business for 28 years, and the lowest I’ve ever seen it was
950,000 acres,” says Staas.
The same spring storms that produced the rains allowing government
officials to boost water allocations have also delayed first-crop
alfalfa hay harvest in many parts of the Central Valley. “It’s put
us about a month behind schedule,” Staas says. “Guys just kept
waiting and waiting to get going on first cutting. We’re going to see
some good tonnages, but the quality is down.”
One result of the delayed harvest: A shortfall of top-end dairy-quality
hay that has already started to push prices upward. Staas says hay
testing 56% TDN and 21% crude protein or better is currently bringing
around $160/ton at growers’ ranches. That’s up $15-20/ton from
year-ago levels. “Right now, supplies of that kind of hay are few and
far between.”
While the supply is tight enough to justify even higher hay prices,
Staas says that’s unlikely to happen until dairy producers see an
improvement in milk prices. “Right now, the payability on the dairy
side just isn’t there.”
To contact Staas, call 209-835-1662 or email haygrower@caldsl.net.
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Hay growers from throughout the Southeast have been calling Darryl
Carpenter hoping to sell him hay. They heard about his plan to use hay
to help clean up the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Carpenter is vice president of a Tallahassee, FL, company that does road
construction work and has used hay to remove excess tar.
“We’ve tried several different things, and hay seems to work the
best,” he says.
Under his plan, bale processors like those used on farms would spread
hay into the water to soak up oil. Later, the oil-laden hay would be
removed by equipment made for harvesting seaweed and hauled to plants
that burn waste to generate electricity.
View a video and read more about Carpenter’s proposal in our Web site
story: “Hay
Could Help Fight Gulf Oil Spill.”
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As in other parts of the country, forage crops in Pennsylvania are
maturing earlier than normal this year, reports
Penn State University forage specialist Marvin Hall. “In many
areas of the state, alfalfa is seven to 10 days ahead and the grasses
are four to seven days ahead of normal.”
As a result, Hall is getting a lot of questions from producers on when
they should harvest. A Penn State study showed that delaying harvest in
spring increased yield by only 290 lbs/acre/day, but decreased relative
forage quality (RFQ) by five units/day and neutral detergent fiber
digestibility (NDFD) by 0.2%/day, he says.
“Taking spring harvest a little early will provide optimum quality and
possibly crash weevil populations in the field. The decrease in yield
for the first cut could be regained in the second harvest if there is
sufficient moisture to keep the alfalfa rapidly growing before the
temperatures get too high.”
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Jimmy Maass, safety coordinator for Virginia
Farm Bureau, offers the following ideas for making sure the harvest
season ahead is a safe one for growers, family members and employees:
- Inspect equipment to make sure it’s up to manufacturer
specifications.
- Shut down all equipment before working on it. If a baler gets
jammed up, turn it off before clearing it out. For a round baler, engage
safety locks or valves on the cylinders when the tailgate is lifted so
it won’t fall on you.
- Make sure all safety equipment (power take-off shields, safety
chains and chain guards), slow-moving-vehicle signs and reflective tape
are in place.
- Check bearings, hydraulic hoses, tires and signal lights. Make sure
no cutter blades, teeth or bars are bent or cracked. Keep extra shear
bolts handy. Never use regular bolts in place of shear bolts.
- Keep a charged-water or foam fire extinguisher on all hay equipment
and inside all work buildings.
- Relay safety information to all employees and anyone else who helps
you. Train them on how to properly use all equipment.
- When loading hay, lift carefully with your legs. Do not stack bales
too high and tie in stacks by alternating bales and securing each stack.
Strap round bales in place so they won’t roll off the wagon or
trailer.
- Use escort vehicles when moving hay on roadways.
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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 the highlights of the May issue:
- Maximizing Returns
- Steam-Cooked Hay
- Why Use Social Media?
- Getting More From Millet
Click here to view
the digital edition.
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Iowa
The spread between high- and low-quality grass hay prices widened a bit
at last Thursday’s weekly Rock Valley Hay Auction, reports owner Paul
McGill. That indicates that buyers are becoming a little more selective
in anticipation of the new hay crop.
“Throughout the winter, there was a lot of poor-quality hay moving
through,” says McGill. “We just had poor weather for making good hay
throughout last year’s growing season. As a result, the price spread
was pretty narrow. At last week’s sale, the spread started to break
apart a bit.”
A load of small square bales was the top grass-hay seller at
Thursday’s auction, at $140/ton. For alfalfa, a load of second-cutting
hay, also packaged in small squares, brought $160/ton.
There’s a 70% chance that the auction will see its first new-crop hay
of the season offered at this Thursday’s (May 20) sale, McGill says.
“We’ve been talking to growers in South Dakota and Nebraska who have
hay down. They’re just waiting out some rain.”
Hay/straw auctions at Rock Valley are held year-round on Thursdays. From
November through April, the auction also holds a Monday sale. All
auctions begin at 12:30 p.m. To learn more, visit the company’s Web site. To
contact McGill, call 712-470-1274.
Wisconsin
A frost early last week didn’t set the alfalfa crop back much, if at
all, in the southeastern part of the state, says Matt Hanson, University
of Wisconsin Extension crops and soils agent in Dodge County.
“The worst of it was Sunday night-Monday morning,” says Hanson.
“But it wasn’t cold enough long enough to do that much harm. Any
alfalfa that was standing came through in pretty good shape.”
Favorable early spring weather has the crop coming on quickly. PEAQ
sampling at five locations in the county showed RFQ dropping
approximately 15 points between May 6 and May 10. In the southern part
of the county, some growers were reporting early bud formation.
A stretch of cool, rainy weather mid-week last week may have slowed crop
progress. “But if we get a few warm days now, we should see some
people starting harvest this week,” says Hanson. “That would be
about a week to 10 days ahead of normal.”
With few winterkill problems reported coming out of the winter, Hanson
believes many growers will see good early season yields. “Barring a
lot of rainy weather in the next week or two, a lot of producers should
be looking at a pretty decent first cutting.”
Hanson can be contacted at 920-386-3790. Learn more about Dodge County’s RFQ
estimates. Also see “PEAQ:
Predicting When To Harvest Alfalfa.”
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With the alfalfa crop coming on ahead of schedule in New York this
year, growers should be actively monitoring fields now to head off
unnecessary losses associated with injury from alfalfa weevils, says Ken
Wise of the state’s
Integrated Pest Management Program.
He recommends a straightforward monitoring process. Pick 50 alfalfa
stems at random throughout the field and look for small “shot holes”
in the leaves that indicate larvae are feeding. Record the percentage of
alfalfa stems showing shot hole feeding damage in the top 3” of the
canopy.
“If, before the first cutting, 40% of the stem tips show feeding
damage, you’re at the action threshold,” says Wise. “It’s time
to do something.”
If you’re within a week of your normal first-cutting date, harvest
early to help avoid economic yield and forage-quality losses.
“Alfalfa weevils only have one generation per year and are typically
not a problem after first harvest. Occasionally, weevils can damage
alfalfa re-growth after harvest. This damage may be more evident in the
windrow areas, and can be more noticeable under cool or droughty weather
conditions. If you find that 50% of the new growth is damaged, with many
small larvae present, a chemical control may be warranted.”
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“Selecting the Right Equipment for the Job” is the theme of the
University of Kentucky Equine
Initiative’s Equine Farm and Facilities Expo. It will be held
June 1 at Spy Coast Farm near Lexington.
Demonstrations will feature the practical use of equipment suited for
small- to mid-sized equine operations. Specific demos will include
weed-control basics, mowing and dragging small pastures, seeding and
overseeding pastures and fencing and water for rotational grazing.
Companies from throughout the central Bluegrass Region will also be on
hand with equipment displays.
To learn more, contact expo chairman Ray Smith at 859-257-3358 or raysmith1@uky.edu.
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May 19 -- University Of California Alfalfa & Forage Crops Field
Day, UC-Davis Agronomy Field Headquarters, Davis. Get additional details.
June 9-10 -- Four-State Dairy Nutrition And Management Conference,
Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA. Register online or download a brochure.
Or call the Wisconsin Agri-Service Association at 608-223-1111 or Jim
Salfer at 320-203-6093 or salfe001@umn.edu.
June 16-17 -- 2010 Hay Expo, Matt and Jana Hamlett Farm,
Strawberry Point, IA. Details at
www.HayExpo.com or call 866-264-7469.
June 21-23 -- American Forage And Grassland Council Annual
Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO. Get details.
June 23 -- Dodge County/Fond du Lac County (WI) Forage Council
Twilight Meeting, Lemmenes Custom Farms, LLC, Waupun. Get more information.
June 25 -- Manure Happens Field Day, Mains Dairy, Newville, PA.
For more information, contact Genny Christ at 717-240-6507 or genny@psu.edu.
July 21-- Illinois Forage Expo/Hay Contest, 8 a.m-3 p.m.,
Law-Rae Dairy Farm, Manteno, IL. Get details.
Aug. 9-10 -- Kentucky Grazing School, Woodford County Extension
Office, Versailles. Preregistration required. See
a brochure.
Aug. 17-19 -- Penn State University Ag Progress Days, Russell E.
Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. Get details.
Sept. 1-4 -- National Hay Association Annual Meeting, Griffin
Gate Marriott Resort, Lexington, KY. Watch for details.
Feb. 24, 2011 -- Kentucky Alfalfa Conference, Fayette County
Extension office, Lexington. Watch for details.
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