By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The weather has been and still is a hot topic when it comes to agriculture. The last two years have brought unusually low amounts of rain while this year it seems like that’s all it has done.

The summers of 2007 and 2008 created worries of not having enough hay to feed livestock through the winter. In many instances, producers didn’t, prompting sell-offs of animals and some cases of animals not having enough to eat.

This year has been just the opposite as hay producers have seen a complete turn-around in the size of their crop. But that isn’t necessarily a great thing with the abundance of moisture creating its own unique set of problems according to Tom Keene, hay marketing specialist in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

“Certainly with the drought years we had, and with the economy and the cost of inputs such as fertilizer and fuel, the number of acres harvested and the quantity was down in 2007 and 2008. Coming into this year, we were hoping to have a good year and we have.
We’ve had enough moisture to produce the crop but getting it off in a timely fashion to make top quality hay has been more than a challenge for most farmers,” he said. “So, while we’re going to have an abundance of hay this year, the quality I think will suffer especially for cow hay.”

Keene added that producers had a good window of opportunity in May in which many farmers didn’t take advantage of because they were either tied up with other farming activities or they simply thought there was not enough yield at the time to justify cutting. It was July, he said before another opportunity arose to cut hay without getting it rained on and another in August.

“We should have an abundance of round bale cattle hay. Again, the quality is going to be down quite a bit, and just as during the drought, we were trying to do everything as economically as possible, we want to continue to do that.

But because this hay is low quality, anyone, either feeding their own hay or buying hay to feed to their livestock, we absolutely want to test it to make sure those animals are getting all of their requirements for nutrients and minerals,” he said. “I think testing is going to be one of the keys for this year.”

Even though dry conditions created less of a crop, quality was high last year and hay commanded quality prices. That scenario is unlikely to continue into the 2009 crop.

“We’ll see prices come down on hay this year,” said Keene. “I’m guesstimating and that is strictly what it is, anywhere from a 40 to 50 percent drop in prices on cattle hay. On small square-bale hay that is alfalfa/alfalfa-grass mix, we will see some reduction but I don’t think it will be as severe as the round bale cattle hay.”
Rick Horn, a producer in Woodford County said the weather has made it difficult at best to get the hay in without getting wet.

“Overall it has been a good year especially for the cattle people but too much rain is almost as bad as too little rain,” he said. “I have 130 acres of alfalfa and I try to get it all cut five times, cutting about every 30 days so we’re doing hay almost all the time.”
Horn also said that the drought last year cut the quantity in half but the quality was good. This year the quality is there but getting the hay up is the issue.

“Sometimes it goes from horse hay to cattle hay because it gets wet and you can’t get it up in the best of quality. But what you do get up is excellent, no doubt about that,” he said.

Keene reminds producers that while hay supplies are in good shape here, other parts of the country aren’t as lucky. Texas for instance is experiencing a severe drought, and hay supplies will likely be short there possibly creating an “exporting” opportunity for producers here. Still, he said those producers should consider hay quality and transportation costs when determining a price for their product.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) provides hay testing services. Growers can contact their local extension offices for information or if they want to have the KDA test their hay.