ALFALFA HAY: The Southwest District was Wisconsin’s district with the largest alfalfa hay production in 2018 with 413,500 tons according to estimates released by the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. The West Central District was second with 344,300 tons.Grant led Wisconsin counties in alfalfa hay production with 92,500 tons produced. Vernon, Clark, Sauk, and Iowa completed the top five.Grant led all counties with an average yield of 2.75 tons per acre. Iowa, Sawyer, Pierce, and Marathon also reported above 2.50 tons per acre.ALL OTHER HAY: The North Central District was Wisconsin’s district with the largest production of all other hay in 2018 with 255,000 tons. The Northwest District was second with 190,200 tons.The Southwest District had the highest yield with 2.40 tons per acre. The Southeast District (2.30 tons per acre) and the West Central District (2.15 tons per acre) had the next highest yields.Yields are derived from production divided by area harvested. Only published estimates were considered in rankings of districts and counties.Meanwhile many farmers are starting to evaluate their acres and what damage may have occurred during the winter. Greg Blonde, Waupaca County Ag Agent is working with growers to make sure they’re pricing their standing hay properly.Blonde says one of the challenges in coming up with a value for standing hay is the lack of daily price information like we have for grain crops. Another challenge is accounting for the difference in quality and yield. Nonetheless, pricing standing hay is a common question this time of year, so here’s one example when buying or selling standing hay in 2019.Assuming a four (4.0) ton dry matter (DM) yield/acre for the entire year of dairy quality alfalfa hay ranging from $200 to $250/ton baled ($0.11 to $0.14/lb DM) with half the value going to the land owner for input costs (land, taxes, seed, lime and fertilizer), and half the value credited to the buyer for harvesting, field loss and weather risk, standing value for this alfalfa field for the entire season could range from $400 to $700/acre.Using a three cut (40% / 30% / 30%) or four cut (35% / 25% / 20% / 20%) harvest schedule, the following price range (rounded to the nearest $5) may offer a starting point for buyers and sellers negotiating the purchase or sale of good quality standing alfalfa in 2019:4 cuts 3 cuts1st crop…$155–245/a $ 175–280/a 2ndcrop…$110–175/a $ 130–210/a 3rd crop…$ 90–140/a $ 130–210/a 4th crop…$ 90–140/a(more)To help buyers and sellers better evaluate their own purchase or sale of standing hay, Greg Blonde, UW-Extension Agriculture Agent suggests his free mobile app with easy access to current baled hay market information, and calculates standing value per acre for each cutting based on your own yield and harvest costs. The app is free and can be downloaded on both Android and Apple mobile devices through the Google Play or Apple Store (search for Hay Pricing). A short on-line YouTube step-by-step tutorial video for running the mobile app is also available at: https://youtu.be/Gv9bNoq4NJQ.Farm News Hay Volumes And Pricing Four Individuals And Two Groups Recognized For Water Monitoring More Money Disbursed From WI Farm Tech Days Creating A Culture Of “Yes” On The Farm Food Safety Rules Can Be TrickyFollow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Twitter
About Pam Jahnke
Getting up at 2 in the morning might shock some of her listeners, but for Pam Jahnke, it’s part of the business. Born in Northeastern Wisconsin, Pam Jahnke grew up in agriculture. Raised on her family’s 200-acre dairy farm, she learned the “farm work ethic” first hand.
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