Texas — Extreme wetness has plagued the No. 1 hay-producing state much of this summer. A lot of hay has been harvested, but Larry Redmon, Texas A&M University extension forage agronomist, is concerned about its quality.

“As far as quantity, I think we're going to be in pretty good shape,” says Redmon. “It's just a matter of how much supplement are we going to have to feed with our hay this year with that lower nutritive value.”

He says growers are much more upbeat than they were last year, when the state was in a severe drought.

Texas growers produce mostly grass hay for beef cattle. The state's growing dairy industry imports most of its high-quality alfalfa from other states. Prices for dairy-quality alfalfa are mostly in the $150-160/ton range.

Nebraska — Hay production and quality are both down, says Barb Kinnan, executive director of the Nebraska Alfalfa Marketing Association (N.A.M.A.). Parts of the state have been too dry, parts too wet,and other parts have had just adequate rainfall, she says.

Due mostly to the April freeze and alfalfa acres lost to corn, she expects to enter winter with below-normal inventories. “I think it's going to be fairly significant,” she says.

Prices are strong. Most N.A.M.A. members are charging 70-80¢ per relative feed value point as a base price, then adjusting up or down depending on the hay, she says.

Colorado — Quality seems to be an issue with Colorado hay, says Russ Travelute, officer in charge of the state's market reports. A fair amount has been put up, but some of it was weedy, he says. That hay will go to the beef cow market, currently paying $110-120/ton. Dairy-quality hay is selling for $150-160/ton,says Travelute.

Wyoming — In southeastern Wyoming, hay production will be down 25-30% because growers couldn't irrigate until late June, and hot weather hurt second and third cuttings. That's according to Barry McRea, owner of Valley Video Hay Markets, Torrington.

“Our dairy hay prices are running from $125 to $140/ton,” says McRea. “Our feeder hay is running around $100/ton right now.”

California — Prices for dairy-quality hay are $20-30/ton above year-ago levels for two reasons, reports Jack Getz, USDA Market News reporter for California, Washington, Idaho and Oregon. A tight supply is the main reason. But also, milk prices are high so dairies can afford to pay more than they did a year ago, says Getz.

California dairies can't import less-expensive hay from other states because supplies are tight throughout the West. On-farm prices for premium alfalfa are running $150-170/ton in the Sacramento Valley, $180-195/ton in the Central Valley and $130-160/ton in Pacific Northwest states.

Anyone interested in selling hay to Lisa Smit can contact her at 321-960-2305 or brevardec@aol.com.