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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
Weather
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Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly, at
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or
Fae Holin,
Managing Editor, fholin@hayandforage.com
For specific information from past issues of eHay Weekly and
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Even with a few minor scheduling glitches, the National Hay
Association (NHA) is expecting more than 300 people to be on hand Sept.
1-4 when the group’s annual convention takes place in Lexington, KY.
“We had to schedule this year’s meeting about two to three weeks
earlier than normal and over a holiday weekend to ensure enough meeting
and hotel space,” says Don Kieffer, executive director. “Initially,
we were thinking that might hold down attendance some. But from what
we’ve seen so far, registrations seem to be right on par with recent
years.”
Historical climatologist Evelyn Browning-Garriss will be the featured
speaker. Browning-Garriss, author of the Browning Newsletter, will
offer insights on what’s been behind weather developments in the U.S.
and internationally over the past several years. She’ll also provide a
forecast of what lies ahead.
“Evelyn was a very popular speaker at our 1992 and 2000
conventions,” notes Kieffer. “And, given some of the weird weather,
we’ve experienced recently (abundant growing-season rainfall in the
U.S., drought in Russia, flooding in Pakistan, etc.), we thought this
would be a good year to bring her back. She is one of the most
sought-after speakers in the weather forecasting business.”
Along with the Browning-Garriss presentation, scheduled for Saturday,
convention-goers will hear from experts on a variety of topics at Friday
morning’s educational session. Topics to be addressed include hay for
horses; the past, present and future of horses in Kentucky; and an
update on Roundup Ready alfalfa. There will also be presentations on
producing and marketing hay and the 50-year history and future plans of
the Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council.
Registrations are still being accepted. To learn more, go to the NHA Web site or phone Kieffer at
800-707-0014.
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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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The clock is ticking for hay growers intending to enter this
year’s World Forage Analysis Superbowl.
The deadline for entering the contest’s dairy hay and haylage and
commercial hay and baleage categories is Sept. 2. The deadline for
entering corn silage categories was Aug. 13.
Finalists will be notified in September and invited to attend an awards
luncheon at World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI, on Sept. 29. Winning
entries will be on display in the Arena Building throughout the expo,
which runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 at Alliant Energy Center.
In last year’s superbowl, 320 samples were submitted from 25 states.
See contest rules/get an entry
form.
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The Iowa Department of Agriculture is encouraging hay and straw
producers to register with the Iowa Hay and Straw Directory.
Along with contact information for Iowa producers who have hay and straw
for sale, the directory lists organizations and businesses associated
with promoting and marketing quality hay and straw.
The directory, now in its 34th year, is available to buyers throughout
the U.S. However, only sellers from within the state are included on the
list. Names are gathered throughout the year. Sections within the
directory include forages for sale, forage auctions, hay associations,
forage dealers, hay grinders and custom balers.
To learn more, visit the Iowa
ag department’s Web site. (Go to the Bureaus link, select
Agricultural Marketing, then click on the Hay & Straw Directory icon at
the bottom of the page.) If you don’t have Internet access, call the
Hay and Straw Hotline at 800-383-5079.
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USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding farmers and
ranchers that they have until the close of business this Friday (Aug.
27) to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
The deadline applies to producers signing up for the first time and for
those with existing contracts scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2010.
Landowners can complete the paperwork at the FSA county office where
their records are maintained.
Learn
more.
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- Growers who have been battling rain all summer will relate
to a recent blog post by
a self-described “Iowa farm wife.” Along with detailing her
family’s struggles to put up hay in 2010, the writer also posts photos
and commentary aimed at educating non-farmers about the haymaking
process.
- University of Georgia Extension forage specialist Dennis Hancock is
featured in a recently posted YouTube video focusing on alfalfa as
high-quality forage for livestock in the southeastern U.S.
See
the video.
- A primer on choosing hay for horses, authored by equine specialists
at the University of Kentucky, is the topic of an Aug. 21 post on a blog
maintained by Mountain Valley View Farm, Inc., Greenacres, WA. Read
the article.
- Hay & Forage Grower has posted more than 100 “tweets” on
the social media site Twitter. Read the tweets/become a
follower.
- University of Wisconsin Extension machinery systems specialist Matt
Digman offers tips for saving fuel in farm machines as part of a recent
ag podcast on the UW’s news Web site. Listen
to Digman’s comments.
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Get in it, and WIN it! Enter the World Forage Superbowl and WIN
Cash Prizes.
The World Forage Analysis Superbowl is seeking entries for the 2010
contest. This year entrants will walk away with over $20,000 in cash
prizes.
Contest entries MUST BE RECEIVED by Thursday, September 2,
2010. Participants may enter as often and in as many categories as
desired. This year World Dairy Expo is September 28 - October 2.
Download
an entry form here.
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Tennessee
Hot and dry weather from early June on has singed hayfields and crimped
production big-time in parts of northeastern Tennessee.
“We’ve had 40 days of temperatures over 90 degrees and very little
rain since early to mid-June,” reports Chris Ramsey, University of
Tennessee Extension agent in Sullivan County. “It’s hit and miss,
but at least a third of the county is extremely dry.”
Typically, livestock producers get two hay cuttings per season with an
occasional third cutting some years. This year, many growers will be
lucky to get one good cutting. “And even if we get some rain and
moderate temperatures, the yield for the fall cutting won’t be what
they’d like it to be,” says Ramsey.
Even so, he says it’s too early to get a good handle on the supply
situation heading into the winter feeding season. He notes that many
growers had respectable yields on first cutting this year. “And we
had pretty good production last year,” he says. “People were able to
build up their stocks a little bit. We’ll just have to wait and see
how it all plays out.”
To contact Ramsey, phone 423-279-2723 or email chris.ramsey@utk.edu.
Washington
While early season rains perplexed hay growers in many parts of the
state, producers in northeastern Washington have actually benefitted
from all the moisture.
“It’s been a great year for yields in our area,” says Paul Hudson,
a Clayton grower and treasurer of the Northeast Washington Hay Growers
Association. “Overall, production here is up 10-20%. We had a little
rain in May and June, but we were glad to see it. The last couple of
years have been extremely dry. This year’s moisture didn’t really
damage the quality any.”
Hudson grows alfalfa, timothy and mixed hay on 350 dryland acres. He
packages all of his hay in small square bales weighing around 80 lbs and
sells to local horse owners.
Currently, topnotch hay in his area is selling for $140-150/ton in the
barn. That’s down just slightly from year-ago prices. “Last year you
could get $160-170/ton pretty easily. But that dropped off between
Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had to soften price up a bit to move hay.
But we did manage to sell out last year.”
To contact Hudson, phone 509-276-2625.
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Joanne Whalen, IPM specialist for University of Delaware Extension,
reports that fall armyworms are becoming active in grass hayfields in
the state.
She advises growers to watch fields closely after cutting for signs of
damage to regrowth. “Larvae must be small at the time of treatment to
achieve effective control,” says Whalen. “Before treatment, be sure
to check all labels for (application) rate, comments on control under
high populations and size of larvae, days to harvest, forage/silage
restrictions and other use restrictions.”
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The 2010 Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council (KFGC) Field Day is
scheduled for Sept. 14 at the Jim Landis farm in Barren County.
The field day will showcase significant changes Landis has made in his
grazing program. Topics to be discussed include fencing, watering,
stockpiling, grass-legume mixtures and grazing management. Hands-on
demonstrations of drill calibration, weed identification, hay testing,
moisture monitoring and more are also planned.
For more information, check out the KFGC
Web site.
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Aug. 25 -- Stem Nematode Seminar/Workshop, Cal/West Seeds
Research Center, Woodland, CA. Email c.souza@calwestseeds.com or
phone 530-207-5102.
Sept. 2 -- Edisto Beef Cattle/Forages Fall Field Day, Edisto
Research & Education Center, Blackville, SC. Contact John Andrae at
864-656-3504 or jandrae@clemson.edu.
Sept. 2 -- Purdue Forage Management Day, Agronomy Center for
Research and Education, West Lafayette, IN. Get a
registration form.
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here.
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