The 10 most popular eHay Weekly reads in 2023

It’s been another year of ups and downs on farms and ranches. If you weren’t locked in on eHay Weekly every Tuesday morning, here’s a list of the 10 most popular articles that filtered through your inbox over the past 12 months. The topics are varied, ranging from farm features to fertilizer prices to a perennial favorite — custom farming rates. Looking ahead to 2024, we will once again strive to bring you relevant forage production, storage, utilization, and marketing information each week. Thanks for your readership and we wish you a healthy and prosperous new year.

In the order of when they appeared, here are eHay Weekly’s Top 10 in 2023:

The U.S. hay barn is bare going into 2023 . . . January 17

This was our annual report on the state of forage inventories and production after the release of the summative USDA reports.

A forage nightmare hits this Vermont farm . . . January 24

This Vermont dairy farmer noticed his cows were getting sick and dying. The cause was from wire-laden forage left by a telecommunications company.

A hidden nitrogen gold mine . . . January 31

Pastures are ecological systems that evolve over time. Some, with high biological activity, generate more than enough nitrogen to keep pastures growing.

A small square bale renaissance . . . February 21

Small square bales will never dominate the haymaking landscape; however, they likely will also never disappear, and one could argue that they’re making a comeback.

Two women, eight balers, and a lot of trucks . . . March 7

This Oregon trucking and baling company has grown and prospered under the leadership of two determined and talented women.

What’s being charged for custom fieldwork? . . . March 28

This popular look at available custom farming rates once again makes its annual appearance on the Top 10 list.

Saudi alfalfa farm under fire — again . . . April 25

The Saudi-owned Fondomonte Arizona LLC began alfalfa production operations in western Arizona about eight years ago. In 2023, they were back in the headlines.

Fertilizer prices take a dive . . . August 15

Looking for some good 2023 news? Fertilizer prices dropped, and who doesn’t like reading about that?

Orchardgrass is (almost) everywhere . . . August 22

The utility of orchardgrass is put into play from coast to coast. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a pasture or a hayfield.

A tale of two forage disorders . . . September 5

After a group of Missouri cattle were turned into some drought-stressed johnsongrass, the animals started dropping like flies. Was it prussic acid poisoning or nitrate toxicity?