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In Today's eHay
Weekly
July 13, 2010
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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
Weather
Send Questions & Comments To...
Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly, at
hfg@hayandforage.com
For information on Hay & Forage Grower, contact:
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
function in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
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By Rick Mooney
Editor, eHay Weekly
With the latest USDA acreage report showing a slight drop-off in hay
acres in 2010 (see last week’s
eHay
Weekly), look for prices to strengthen some between now and the
end of the year, says South Dakota State University Extension ag
economist Matt Diersen.
According to the report, hay growers intend to harvest 59.7 million
acres this year. Diersen notes that it would be the lowest
harvested-acres total in the U.S. since 1994. By his calculations, the
lower acreage numbers mean total production this year could be off by
around two million tons from earlier production estimates. “That would
be enough to make a difference on price as we move forward,” he says.
In particular, he adds, the declining acreage of alfalfa and alfalfa
mixtures cited in the report bears close watching. With
more-than-adequate moisture in many alfalfa-growing regions during the
early part of the season, overall tonnage is likely to be at or above
normal.
High-quality hay, though, could be in short supply. “Yields are likely
to be okay,” says Diersen. “But the availability of protein will be
of concern.”
With that in mind, he says hay buyers in need of high-quality hay may
want to do their shopping early before prices head higher. On the flip
side, growers who have been able to put up high-quality hay and have
adequate storage available may want to hold off on selling until later
in the year.
"There could be some opportunities regionally," he says. “Alfalfa
acres are expected to be down significantly in many dairy states,
including Minnesota, Pennsylvania and California.
“A lot depends on what happens with the weather from this point
forward. But right now it looks like supplies – especially alfalfa
– will be tighter than expected, and that should support better
prices.”
To contact Diersen, phone 605-688-4864 or e-mail matthew.diersen@sdstate.edu.
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Getting bales and stacks of hay off the field as soon as possible
after harvesting pays big dividends, says University of Nebraska
Extension forage specialist Bruce Anderson.
One problem with delaying removal, he says, occurs directly under the
bale or stack. “Plants underneath often are killed if covered for more
than a week or two. This may not hurt yield too much, but makes for a
great place for weeds to get started.”
Damage to regrowth due to wheel traffic is an even bigger problem.
Anderson notes studies showing that when fields are dry, plants driven
on before regrowth occurs yield about 5-7% less at the next cutting. The
studies also show that waiting just seven days after cutting, when
regrowth shoots have started to grow, can lead to yield losses of over
25%. “Worse yet is removing bales when fields are wet,” says
Anderson. “Then, wheel traffic causes much more compaction. When this
happens, yield loss typically exceeds 30%.” The studies also show that
following the same trail when removing bales or stacks from fields can
reduce losses from wheel tracks by limiting the total area damaged.
Anderson’s bottom line: “Hayfields must be driven on, of course, to
remove bales after harvest. But you can lessen damage by controlling
where, when and how often you drive.”
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Kentucky hay growers Clayton and Christopher Geralds were big-time
winners in the American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC) 2010 Hay
Contest. Winners were announced at the recent AFGC annual conference in
Springfield, MO.
The Geralds, of Priceville, KY, captured first place in three categories
– alfalfa baleage, alfalfa hay and perennial cool-season grass hay.
The father-and-son farming team also notched a second place in the
legume-grass mixtures category.
Next year’s AFGC annual conference is slated for June 12-15 in French
Lick, IN. Get
more details about AFGC and the hay contest.
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50+ U.S. lawmakers who signed a letter
calling on USDA to not deregulate Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM)
alfalfa, despite last month’s Supreme Court decision that cleared the
way for limited planting pending environmental reviews. The Senate and
House members say GM alfalfa represents too great a risk to conventional
and organic agriculture. Source: hayandforage.com.
250 Tons of hay destroyed by a fire in
Layton, UT. Estimated value of the hay lost is $30,000-40,000.
Investigators say the fire may have been started by a lit cigarette or
fireworks thrown from a car. Source: ABC 4 News, Salt Lake City.
2,300 People attending a Breakfast On The
Farm event late last month at the Earl and Diane Horning dairy near
Manchester, MI. Attendees came from seven states and one Canadian
province. Source:
Michigan
State University News Service.
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Colorado
Getting quality alfalfa hay put up in 2010 “has been quite a
challenge” so far in the northeastern part of the state, says Don
Leonard of Don’s Hay Service in Brush.
Cool weather early kept first-crop yields a little on the short side.
“Quality was excellent, though,” says Leonard, who grows alfalfa on
450 irrigated acres. His main clients are dairies and beef feedlots. He
also does custom planting and harvesting on another 1,600 acres.
For second crop, Leonard battled rain through much of June and a series
of hailstorms over four straight days mid-month. “The hail went
through here like a buzz saw and really messed things up,” he says.
“We ended up clipping a lot of our second cutting just to get it off
the field.”
On price, Leonard reports that supreme-quality dairy hay in his area is
currently selling for $130-140/ton at the stack. “It hasn’t changed
much since this spring. Until the price of milk gets a little bit
better, the price of hay isn’t going to get any better.”
Price has come up for the grinder hay Leonard sells to feedlots. It’s
currently bringing $80-90/ton at the stack. A year ago, the price was
$60-70/ton.
Looking at prospects for the rest of the year, he’s optimistic.
“Right now it looks like the supply of top dairy hay is going be down
later this year so prices should get better,” he says.
To contact Leonard, phone 970-842-3058 or email donshay@kci.net.
Georgia
A tough general economy continues to put downward pressure on hay
prices, says University of Georgia Extension forage specialist Dennis
Hancock. “Most of our commercial hay growers produce for the horse
market, and that’s a pretty tough market right now,” he says.
“Horse owners as a group are very discerning consumers and, with the
economy the way it is, they don’t have a lot of disposable income.”
Hancock is hopeful that the recovery will pick up later in the year.
“If that happens, we could see hay prices pick up a bit in November,
December and January as people start feeding more hay. Right now, if
there’s anything to be happy about, it’s that prices aren’t any
worse than they are.”
Bermudagrass growers in most parts of the state are just getting started
on second cutting. He reports that first-cutting yields were good
overall because of adequate moisture. “With the exception of one
pocket in the northwestern part of the state, people got rain when they
needed it. We definitely need a little more of a normal year. The last
three or four years have been pretty dry.”
Hancock encourages bermudagrass growers with weed problems to take a
closer look at DuPont’s Pastora herbicide. “It’s one more thing to
add to the toolbox for grassy weed control,” he says. “From what
we’ve seen, it does a great job on johnsongrass and vasey grass. And
it can control some broadleaf weeds as well.”
To contact Hancock, phone 706-542-1529 or email dhancock@uga.edu.
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With second-crop harvest winding up in many areas, it’s time to
start monitoring for potato leafhoppers on a weekly basis, says Bryan
Jensen of the University of Wisconsin’s Integrated Pest Management
Program.
To get an accurate estimate of leafhopper populations, Jensen advises
using a standard 15”-diameter sweep net. Walk a W-shaped pattern in
the field and take 20 consecutive sweeps in each of five randomly
selected areas. Keep a running total of leafhoppers caught, then divide
by 100 (the total number of sweeps per field).
“Be very careful when looking for leafhopper nymphs,” says Jensen.
“Usually, you won’t find them at the bottom of the sweep net as you
would the adults. Instead, they are frequently found around the collar
of the net.”
The economic threshold for treating potato leafhoppers is based on plant
height. The shorter the alfalfa, the fewer leafhoppers it will take to
cause damage. If alfalfa is 3” tall, spray when the number of
leafhoppers reaches 0.2/sweep. At 6”, the threshold increases to 0.5
leafhoppers/sweep. When plant height is 8-11”, the threshold bumps up
to one leafhopper/sweep, and at 12” or more, the threshold doubles
again, to two leaphoppers/sweep. “Do not spray if you are within seven
days of your normal cutting schedule,” says Jensen. “Instead, cut
the alfalfa and reassess the situation by sweeping the regrowth for
leafhoppers.”
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A free alfalfa and oilseed field day will be held at the Texas
AgriLife Research Station near Pecos on Thursday, July 15.
Topics will include an update on Roundup Ready alfalfa, marketing
strategies for forage-crop producers, weed management in alfalfa fields
and budgeting aids.
“This will be a great chance to get the latest information on
marketing these crops for the best return during these trying economic
times,” says Logan Lair, AgriLife Extension agent in Reeves County
For more information, call Lair 432-447-9041 or 432-448-2681.
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The 2010 Mississippi State University Pasture and Forage Short
Course will be held on Aug. 24-25. Site of the short course will be the
Bost Conference Center on the Mississippi State University campus near
Starkville.
Topics on the agenda include nutrient cycling in pastures, weed
management, legume management, hay production, the economics of grazing
systems and more. There will also be fencing demonstrations, sprayer and
drill calibrations and a trade show.
For more information, contact Rocky Lemus at 662-325-7718 or rlemus@ext.mstate.edu.
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July 15 – Central Wisconsin Forage Council Summer Field Day.
1-3 p.m., Bill Herr Farm, Greenwood. 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. Get
details or call 815-772-4075 or email gmclark@illinois.edu.
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here.
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