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California Drought Dampens Hay Supply, Raises Prices
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proclaimed a
statewide drought after receiving lower snow-pack estimates during a dry
spring. That will mean higher alfalfa prices and self-imposed or
enforced dry-downs of alfalfa fields in a state with limited hay
supplies and minimal new alfalfa plantings, says Dan Putnam, University
of California-Davis extension forage specialist.
Click
here to read the rest of this story.
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Agco, Online Auction Company Form
Partnership
Agco has announced a partnership with IronPlanet, which
calls itself the world’s leading online auction company for used
construction and ag equipment. The joint initiative is to provide
Agco’s 1,200 North American dealers a faster and more profitable
channel to market and sell used equipment through IronPlanet auctions.
“I am extremely excited about our partnership with IronPlanet and the
value it offers to our dealers across the nation,” says Doug Griffin,
vice president of marketing for Agco North America. “IronPlanet’s
proven business model and global reach will help us continue to
competitively position our dealers in the marketplace and provide a
streamlined and profitable equipment disposal process.”
Dealers using IronPlanet will have their machines inspected by a trained
IronPlanet equipment inspector and are guaranteed that inspection
reports are true representations of equipment condition. AGCO dealers
can sell equipment direct from their locations anywhere in the U.S.,
avoiding costly transportation and make-ready expenses associated with
selling equipment through traditional auctions.
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Ag Exports To Reach Record $108.5
Billion
USDA estimates a $7.5 billion increase in U.S. ag
exports from February's previous record forecast and $26.5 billion above
the final 2007 exports. That totals a record $108.5 billion for fiscal
year 2008. Grains and animal products account for two-thirds of the
export gains.
"America's increased export volume in bulk commodities like corn, other
animal feeds and soybeans make agriculture the bright spot in the
overall balance of trade," says Ag Secretary Ed Schafer. "U.S. producers
are on track to export a record 63 million tons of corn, and set new
export volume and value records for pork.”
U.S. ag exports to China may reach a record $10.5 billion, up almost
$3.4 billion from 2007 levels. Exports to Canada and Mexico are
estimated to reach $30.5 billion in 2008 – $5 billion above the 2007
figure. "Trade agreements have a significant impact on our ability to
sell America's agricultural products in world markets," says Schafer.
"Canada and Mexico, our two North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
partners, currently buy 28% of the value of America's agricultural
exports – up from 20% purchased 15 years ago when trade began under
NAFTA.”
Ag imports in two-way trade with the U.S. will also increase – to a
record $78.5 billion forecast by USDA. But the $108.5 billion in export
sales will net a positive ag trade surplus of $30 billion for the
U.S.
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Georgian Needs Wheat-Straw Buyers
Matt Oliver thought he had sold the straw from his 540
acres of seed wheat in Macon County, GA, but now is scrambling to find
buyers. The crop was harvested with a rotary combine, and the straw is a
bit too short to suit the buyer he had lined up. He was baling it last
week in 5 x 6’ round bales weighing 850-1,000 lbs each, and expected
to end up with 1,000-1,500 of them. But he’ll have the straw rebaled
into big squares if the selling price is sufficient to justify that
expense.
His price: $24.50/bale. He says the wheat received split nitrogen
applications, a foliar fungicide at the flag-leaf stage and was
weed-free. “I’ve got a premium product,” says Oliver. “It’s
really a good-looking straw.”
Call Oliver at 478-244-0129 or email him at Oliveroutdoors@yahoo.com.
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Harvest Ditch Hay? Beware Of
Restrictions
If you make use of ditch hay, work with county
officials to learn what, where and when herbicides are applied before
harvesting, say Krishona Martinson and Liz Stahl, University of
Minnesota regional extension educators. Ditch hay, usually treated with
picloram and clopyralid, is frequently harvested in western Minnesota
and fed to livestock. But the resulting manure, if spread on soybean
fields, can cause significant soybean injury, reduce yield and, in
cases, bring total losses.
Picloram (Tordon, Grazon and Pathway) and clopyralid (Stinger, Curtail
and Transline) are popular with highway departments because they control
noxious weeds like thistles and leafy spurge but don’t kill beneficial
or planted roadway grasses. Herbicides containing the active ingredient
aminopyralid (Milestone, Milestone VM and ForeFront R&P) are also being
used. Aminopyralid, too, may cause injury from contaminated manure. So
far, however, crop injury has not been reported in Minnesota. Check
herbicide labels for restrictions and more information.
If you harvest ditch hay, work with your county weed inspector or
highway department to identify: 1) which herbicides are used in the
roadside weed control program, 2) which roadsides are spot treated and
if some areas have broadcast treatments, and 3) when roadsides will be
treated.
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Missouri
Missouri hay fields look good; they’re just too wet
to harvest, says Rob Kallenbach, state forage specialist with the
University of Missouri. “We would appreciate a dry week,” Kallenbach
dryly comments. “We’ve had loads of rain throughout the month of
May. If the weather patterns continue in the way they are, we’re going
to have a lot of late-cut forage, which won’t help quality.”
Some growers cut hay early and had very good yields, he says. “We’ve
had enough water to grow things; I suspect we’ll get plenty of forage.
In a lot of grazing systems, we’ll have more than we can manage.”
The Missouri Web site that monitors pasture growth rates has, at times,
reported well over 100 lbs/acre/day. “It won’t last like that, but
we’ve had pretty good growth all spring,” Kallenbach says. (The Web
site is: plantsci.missouri.edu/grazingwedge/.)
“I think the bigger implications to all the weather is going to be
that a lot of the corn is behind on planting,” he says. “That will
dry up some feed sources and may have some positive implications for the
value of hay.”
For more information, contact Kallenbach at kallenbachr@missouri.edu.
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Washington
First cutting is running a full two weeks later than
normal in Washington State, says Les Wentworth, an alfalfa grower from
Ephrata. The crop was slow to mature, then recent rains have slowed
harvest. “There is very little hay finished so far; I’d say 10%,”
says Wentworth.
In his area, roughly 10% of the acreage has been cut, and uncut fields
are showing more bloom than growers like to see. “Tests have been low
as well with the later cutting schedules,” says Wentworth. “I’d
say we will have a significant amount of hay in the upper (Columbia)
basin that only goes three cuts this year, or the fourth will be light.
Of course, the weather can change all of this, but it’s looking like
the shortest hay year we have ever had may get even shorter. We will run
out of hay in the Pacific Northwest this year.”
Wentworth sold this year’s first cutting standing in the field, and
the fate of his later cuttings hasn’t been determined. If he harvests
the hay himself, he’ll probably sell it to a variety of buyers,
including feed stores, dairies and exporters, as he has in the past.
“It’s uncommitted as of yet, but there’s pressure from all of
them,” he says.
A past president of the Washington State Hay Growers Association, he
advertises his hay on its Web site. The association offers members free
Web pages to list their hay for sale as well as promote their operations
in text and photos. Then the association runs ads in local newspapers,
pointing buyers to the site. “So instead of 300 members each paying
$50 a month for advertising, all that is done as part of membership,”
says Wentworth.
To see the ads, go to wa-hay.org and click on Hay For Sale. Wentworth
can be contacted at 509-398-1409 or leski42@yahoo.com.
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Illinois Forage Expo Set For Mt. Vernon
A beef custom rotational grazing operation utilizing
warm- and cool-season perennial grasses and summer annuals will be
toured as part of the June 28 Illinois Forage Expo.
Smith Family Farms, Mt. Vernon, will host the 9 a.m.-4 p.m. event that
offers educational presentations and equipment demonstrations.
Presentation topics will include: “Managing Higher Fertility Costs In
Pasture And Hay Land,” “Controlling Weeds and Arthropods In Forages
With IPM Principles,” and “Matching Forage Species With Animal
Nutritional Requirements in a Year-Long Grazing Program.”
A quality-hay contest and industry and equipment exhibits will also be a
part of the event. For more information, visit web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/ag.
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Calendar
June 10-11 -- Wisconsin Grazing School, River
Falls. Call 715-425-3345.
June 11-12 -- Four-State Dairy Nutrition And Management
Conference, Grand Harbor Conference Center, Dubuque, IA. Covering
dairy industry topics for Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota.
Contact Evonne Hausman at ehausman@uiuc.edu.
June 12 -- University of Tennessee Hay Field Day, Shady Brook
Angus Farm, Leoma. Focus will be on managing input costs and
high-moisture hay. Contact Brian White at 731-968-5266.
June 24-25 -- Wisconsin Grazing School, Gleason. Call
715-425-3345.
June 25-26 -- Farm Progress Hay Expo, Ossian, IA, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Visit www.HayExpo.com.
June 28 -- 2008 Illinois Forage Expo, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Smith
Family Farms near Mount Vernon. Visit web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/ag.
July 11-13 -- North Carolina Equine Extravaganza, North Carolina
State Fairgrounds, Raleigh. Learn more at www.equineextravaganza.com.
July 22 -- Wisconsin Grazing School, Fond du Lac. Call
715-425-3345.
Aug. 19-20 -- Wisconsin Grazing School, Richland Center. Call
715-425-3345.
Sept. 4 -- Kentucky Forage & Grassland Council Field Day,
Christian County. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Sept. 17-20 -- National Hay Association Convention, Oak Brook
Hills Marriott, Oak Brook, IL. Contact Don Kieffer at 800-707-0014, or
visit www.nationalhay.org.
Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Oct. 23 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, Fayette County extension
office, Lexington. Learn more at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Oct. 31-Nov. 2 -- Virginia Equine Extravaganza, Richmond Raceway,
Richmond. Learn more at www.equineextravaganza.com.
Nov. 6-7 -- 2008 BEEF Quality Summit, sponsored by
BEEF magazine, Antlers Hilton Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Visit
beefconference.com/.
Nov. 13-16 -- Massachusetts Equine Affaire, Eastern States
Exposition Center, West Springfield. Visit www.equineaffaire.com.
Dec. 2-4 -- California Alfalfa & Forage Symposium, Town & Country
Resort and Hotel, San Diego. Learn more at alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/2008AlfalfaConference/.
Dec. 5-6 -- 2008 Missouri Livestock Symposium, Kirksville.
Programs for horse, beef cattle, sheep, meat goat and forage producers,
and trade show. Details at missourilivestock.com, or call Bruce Lane at
660-665-9866 or Garry Mathes at 660-341-6625.
Feb. 15-16, 2009 -- Southwest Hay And Forage Conference, Ruidoso,
NM. Contact Gina Sterrett at 575-626-5677 or Justin Boswell at
575-840-9908.
June 21-23, 2009 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342 or email info@afgc.org.Calendar.
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