The expectation that U.S. hay prices will fall off in the year ahead was bolstered by the higher-than-anticipated carryover hay-stock numbers in last week’s USDA Crop Production report. But don’t lay any wagers on how much the decline will be, advises Matt Diersen, ag economist at South Dakota State University.
Look for rising input costs to keep good-quality horse-hay prices on the high side in central Missouri in the year ahead, says Jeff O’Laughlin, Missouri Hay & Straw, LLC, near Ashland....More
The expectation that U.S. hay prices will fall off in the year ahead was bolstered by the higher-than-anticipated carryover hay-stock numbers in last week’s USDA Crop Production report. But don’t lay any wagers on how much the decline will be, advises Matt Diersen, ag economist at South Dakota State University....More
All-hay and alfalfa prices are likely to soften a tad this year from record-setting levels. But they’ll stay plenty high by historical standards, according to hay market watchers like Matt Diersen, ag economist with South Dakota State University Extension....More
Demand for U.S. alfalfa hay in China is likely to remain strong for some time to come. So says a representative of a company hired to help that country’s dairy industry become efficient.
“There is definitely a need for high-quality alfalfa and other feeds in China. Chinese producers are very happy with the quality of U.S. hay,” says James Su Hao, co-founder and general manager of East Rock Ltd. The company comprises six dairy-related businesses in the U.S. and Canada that want a part in developing Chinese dairies....More
More than $22,000 is expected to be awarded in the 2012 World Forage Analysis Superbowl, set to culminate at World Dairy Expo, Oct. 2-6, in Madison, WI....More
Most hay growers have felt the frustration of seeing rainy weather render a high-quality crop virtually useless as animal feed. But Peter Bragdon, Vassalboro, ME, thinks he might have a marketable use for such low-quality material: making “hay logs” that can burn in wood stoves, furnaces or even campfires....More
USDA’s 14% estimated increase in Georgia’s harvested hay acres this year is too high, says University of Georgia Extension forage specialist Dennis Hancock....More
Prices for dairy-quality alfalfa in Michigan look as though they’ll stay on the high side in 2012 and perhaps beyond, says Jerry Lindquist, grazing and crop management field specialist with Michigan State University Extension in Osceola County....More
Unusually warm weather has pushed along hay growth at a faster-than-normal pace in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley this spring. Plentiful rainfall in the last two weeks of April was icing on the cake, says Tom Weaver of T. Weaver Auctioneering in Harrisonburg....More
