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Hay & Forage Grower
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By Rick Mooney
Editor, eHay Weekly
Adopting the mindset of marketers rather than sellers can go a long way
in helping hay growers improve the profitability and sustainability of
their businesses, says Curt Lacy, University of Georgia
Extension livestock economist.
Sellers focus on convenience, Lacy notes. “They produce what is
easiest to sell, sell at the most convenient time and most convenient
place. As a result, they often find themselves being price-takers.”
Marketers, on the other hand, are focused on profits. They use the
following concepts as guidelines in developing marketing strategies:
- Produce what the market wants. Successful marketers understand
there are many kinds of hay and hay markets. They strive to match the
hay they produce with the needs/wants of individual markets. For
example, while horse owners typically want medium- to high-quality hay
products, beef owners will be looking for low- to high-quality hay
depending on the nutritional needs of their livestock at a given point
of time. Homeowners and gardeners looking for mulch are generally
willing to accept low-quality hay. Bale type can play a role, too.
“Horse owners typically want small square bales because they’re
easier to handle,” Lacy notes. Depending on operation size, beef
producers may or may not have the equipment to handle large round bales.
- Market at the most profitable time. “Selling your product out of
the field immediately after harvest might be convenient for you as a
grower,” says Lacy. “But you need to ask yourself how much value
could you add by storing the hay on-farm and waiting to sell until
demand picked up during the winter months.”
- Market at the most profitable place. “Setting up a delivery
option for customers will involve additional costs, time and
aggravation, but it might be worth it if it allows you to expand your
customer base,” says Lacy. To determine if offering delivery makes
sense for you, consider operational costs (fuel, repairs, tires, etc.)
and fixed costs (depreciation, insurance, licensing tags, other taxes,
etc.) of trucks/trailers, as well as labor costs associated with
loading, hauling and unloading into a buyer’s barn.
- Take some control over price. Knowing your cost of production and
general price trends for hay in a given area are starting points. “If
the four- or five-year average price for a round bale is $40 but your
breakeven cost is $65, you’re going to have to make some adjustments
(i.e., find ways to reduce costs or develop strategies for adding
value),” says Lacy. “On the other hand, if your breakeven cost is
$50 and the going price is $70, you’ll have the option of marketing at
a lower price in order to move more product.”
Lacy presented his marketing tips at University of Georgia (UGA)
Extension’s Hay Production School held last month in Moultrie. To see
his PowerPoint presentation, visit the UGA Extension Forage Web site
and scroll to Hot Topics, Handouts From The 2010 Hay Production School.
To contact Lacy, call 229-386-3512 or email clacy@uga.edu.
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With alfalfa fields ahead of schedule in many parts of the country,
growers will want to check unharvested stands closely to see if they
have already started to grow the next cutting, says Bruce Anderson, University of Nebraska Extension
forage specialist.
Even in fields that aren’t blooming heavily, Anderson advises looking
for short, new shoots “that your alfalfa plans to turn into your
second cutting. If you cut these new shoots off along with the first
growth, your alfalfa plants will have to start a whole new set of shoots
for regrowth. This could cause a delay in second-cutting regrowth by as
much as one week.”
To avoid that, he recommends raising cutting height a couple of inches.
“Your regrowth then will have a head start towards next cutting. And
since the stubble you leave behind has quite low feed value anyway, the
yield you temporarily sacrifice is mostly just filler.
“Normally, I suggest leaving as short a stubble as possible when
cutting alfalfa, because that maximizes yield and doesn’t affect rate
of regrowth. But a late cutting that already has new shoots growing is
different.”
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The Weed Science Society of America
(WSSA) has called on USDA to reconsider proposed cutbacks in federal
funding for weed science programs.
Current budget proposals would jeopardize critical work that impacts
food and water and natural ecosystems, WSSA president John Jachetta said
in a recent
letter to USDA’s National
Institute of Food and Agriculture.
“Weed scientists are mystified and disappointed by USDA’s
decision,” Jachetta said. “If officials consider weed management a
solved problem, nothing could be further from the truth. Today, well
over half of all pest-related crop losses can be attributed to weeds.
Abandoning our commitment to weed science at a time when our weed
management challenges are growing is a potent recipe for a crisis of
national proportions.”
To learn more about the issue, see “Weed
Science Loses Funding; Works To Restore It.”
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 Know where to find the best alfalfa seed?
Isn’t it obvious? Syngenta alfalfa varieties offer top yield, high
forage quality and exceptional persistence. Plus all the varieties you
need, available through your Garst seed advisor, Golden Harvest dealer
or NK retailer. Contact them today to place your order.
The Syngenta logo is a trademark of a Syngenta Group
Company.
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Purdue University
Extension has updated its Forage Field Guide to give
producers better insight into current forage issues.
The guide offers general information on forage types, soil testing,
fertilizer and liming, establishment, weed control, insect management,
diseases, livestock nutrition, harvest and storage.
The guide was first published five years ago. Additions to the revised
version include sections on making bale silage, new herbicide choices,
pasture rental-rate decision-making and photos of forage seeds.
The $7 guide is available for preorder through Purdue Extension’s The
Education Store. Call 888-398-4636. Discounts are available on larger
orders. Companies and organizations can also order copies of the guide
featuring their logos and other information. Details are available on
Purdue’s Crop
Diagnostic Training and Research Web site.
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The Alabama Farmers Federation’s Hay and
Forage Producers Division is reminding state hay producers that AlabamaHayBarn.com can help them
connect with buyers year-round.
Via the Web site, growers can market their hay through detailed listings
featuring photos and descriptions of hay type, location, size, storage
and price. Sellers can also provide forage-analysis information. The
site’s email alert feature notifies buyers whenever new listings
become available.
The service is free to Alabama
Farmers Federation members. Non-members pay only 20¢/round bale and
2¢/square bale advertised, plus a listing fee of $30.
For more information, contact Nick Jaeger at 334-451-2877 or njaeger@AlfaFarmers.org.
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 Social Networking For Forage Producers
Hay & Forage Grower content is available on Facebook, a social
networking tool increasingly used by growers. Interact with readers and
editors, participate in discussions and keep up-to-date with industry
happenings. Become
a fan of Hay & Forage Grower!
Hay & Forage Grower is also on Twitter, a micro-blogging site
that provides brief status updates on people, groups or organizations.
Users can "follow" people or groups, including news organizations that
they want to keep up-to-date with.
Follow Hay & Forage
Grower on Twitter!
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$111 Per-ton weighted average price
of all U.S. hay between May 2009 and April 2010, according to the latest
Feed
Outlook from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
That compares to a weighted average price of $152/ton during the same
period a year earlier. Given estimated livestock numbers, current
pasture and range conditions and hay stocks, prices are expected to
“remain strong” in the 2010/11 hay-marketing year, says ERS.
83.5 million Total gallons of ethanol
exported by U.S. producers in the first quarter of 2010, according to a
recent
report from the Renewable
Fuels Association. That’s nearly a five-fold increase over the
first-quarter 2009 figure.
16.383 billion Pounds of milk produced by
U.S. dairy herds in April, according to University of Wisconsin ag
economist Bob Cropp. Writing in his monthly Dairy Situation
and Outlook, Cropp notes that was a record for the month of April.
Even with the jump in production, he says milk prices will improve
through the rest of the year.
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Massachusetts
Dropping their horse-hay prices slightly during the last year or so has
led to a pickup in sales volume at North Carver Farm and Pet Supply in
Carver, report owners John and Kathy Seeley.
“We feel we’re better off keeping hay prices low to bring in more
people than charging a higher price and dealing with fewer customers,”
says John Seeley.
Most of the couple’s customers are recreational horse owners with one
or two animals. Second cuttings of timothy and timothy-alfalfa hay are
their top sellers. Currently, the Seeleys charge $7.85 for a bale
weighing approximately 50 lbs, down 50¢/bale from year-ago prices.
Educating customers about the importance of good-quality hay in a
horse’s diet is an ongoing challenge in the retail feed business, says
Seeley. “People think hay is hay and don’t always appreciate the
relationship between quality and price. We try to explain that, while
they might think they’re getting a bargain when they pay $5 for a
bale, they’re likely going to end up paying more for grain supplements
to make up for the lower quality.”
To contact the Seeleys, call 508-866-5454.
Texas
Bermudagrass pastures and hayfields are burning up in the northeastern
part of the state. “I can’t overemphasize how dry we are,” reports
Randy Reeves, ag agent for Texas Agri-Life Extension in
Harrison County. “We usually get 2-4” of rain in May. This year
so far, we’ve had less than an inch. Overall, we’re down 9” on
rainfall for the year.”
A weeklong stretch of high winds (25-30 mph) earlier this month
aggravated the effects of the dry spell, says Reeves.
Ordinarily, the bermudagrass hay harvest in his area begins in late May
or early June. “This year, people may get a cutting, but it will be
late and yields are going to be short if we don’t get some moisture
soon,” he says. “We’ve had wet Junes before. I’m hoping we get
another one this year.”
To contact Reeves, call 903-935-8413 or email dr-reeves@tamu.edu.
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A Corn Silage and Forage Field Day will be held this Thursday, May
27, by the University of Florida and University of Georgia at the Plant
Science and Education Research Unit near Citra, FL.
Along with a presentation on corn and sorghum varieties, there will be
educational sessions on grain silages, warm-season grasses and legume
forage production. The afternoon will be devoted to field and forage
equipment demonstrations.
For more information, contact Jose Santos at 352-392-1931 (ext. 251) or
jepsantos@ufl.edu.
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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.
June 29 -- Northeast Minnesota Forage And Grassland Council Farm
Tour, 4-7 p.m, Pheasants Plus, Warba, MN. Get info.
July 15 – Central Wisconsin Forage Council Summer Field Day.
1-3 p.m., Bill Herr Farm, Greenwood, WI. Get info.
July 20-22 -- Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Roger and Bev
Peterson farm, south of River Falls. Get details.
July 21-- Illinois Forage Expo/Hay Contest, 9 a.m-3 p.m., Law-Rae
Dairy Farm, Manteno, IL. Get
details or call 815-772-4075 or email gmclark@illinois.edu.
Aug. 9-10 -- Kentucky Grazing School, Woodford County Extension
Office, Versailles. Preregistration required. See
a brochure.
Aug. 14 -- 2010 Southern Plains Beef Symposium, Ardmore
Convention Center, Ardmore, OK. For details, contact Tracy Cumbie at
580-224-6411 or tlcumbie@noble.org or Shan Ingram
at 580-224-6412 or shingram@noble.org.
Aug. 17 -- Central Minnesota Forage Council Summer Tour, 10
a.m.-noon, forage; 1-3 p.m., dairy; Stearns County. Watch for details.
Aug. 17-19 -- Penn State University Ag Progress Days, Russell E.
Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, PA. Get details.
Aug. 24 -- Northeast Minnesota Forage And Grassland Council Farm
Tour/Summer Field Day, Rick Johnson farm, Aitkin, MN. Get info.
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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