Wisconsin farmers are just now getting a chance to evaluate how their alfalfa and hay fields came through the winter. 2016 was a very good year for a lot of Wisconsin growers, according to the Wisconsin Ag Statistical Service.
The Southwest District was Wisconsin’s largest alfalfa dry hay producing district in 2016 with 735,000 tons according to estimates released by the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. The West Central District was second with 616,700 tons.
Grant County was the largest alfalfa dry hay producing county with 159,700 tons produced of the published counties. Iowa, Sauk, Vernon, Lafayette, and Dunn also produced more than 100,000 tons.
Pierce led all published counties with an average yield of 4.25 tons per acre. Lafayette, Columbia, and Iowa rounded out the top 4. Grant and Pepin tied for fifth highest published yield.
The North Central District was Wisconsin’s largest producer of dry hay other than alfalfa in 2016 with 166,300 tons. The East Central District was second with 101,900 tons.
Price County was the largest published producing county of hay other than alfalfa, with 22,500 tons produced. Wood, St. Croix, Oconto, and Ashland were the other counties producing more than 10,000 tons.
Winnebago led all published counties with an average of 3.5 tons per acre. Green Lake, St. Croix, Waushara, and Oconto rounded out the top 5 with yields above 2.40 tons/acre.
In 2017, projections are that overall alfalfa and hay acres will be down about 200,000 acres.
