Producers expect to harvest 61.8 million acres of hay in 2007, up 2% from last year's acreage. Harvested acreage is expected to increase throughout the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and in the middle Atlantic Coast states. The largest increase is in South Dakota, where 500,000 more acres are expected to be harvested this year than in 2006. In Montana and North Dakota, acreage is expected to be up 290,000 and 280,000 acres, respectively. However, acreage is expected to decline in states along the Pacific Coast and in the Northeast and Corn Belt. The states with the largest expected decreases are Iowa, down 130,000 acres; Ohio and Michigan, both down 80,000 acres; and New York, down 70,000 acres. In the West, a 50,000-acre decline is expected in Oregon. Overall, acreage of all hay harvested is expected to increase in 24 states and decrease in 20.
Harvested acreage of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures is expected to total 21.5 million, up marginally from last year's figure. All other types of hay account for 40.3 million acres harvested, up 2% from the 2006 number.
Source: USDA.