The first cutting of 2012 has been baled in some of the warmer places of Oregon including Boardman, Ontario, as well as on the California border. Dodging rain in May, the weather cleared up the first week of June and horse and dairy quality hay has hit the market.
While talking to producers and consumers alike, there seemed to be a bearish tone heading into the first cutting, but so far prices have’nt dropped much from the winter prices. The Capital Press has a few ads for Alfalfa and Orchard Grass above $210 a ton. Craigslists of different areas also have many ads over $200/ton, with few farmers undercutting the price even with old stocks. Granted many areas have yet to cut so there is quite a bit of hay to put up for 1st cutting, so there is still plenty of time for a drop.
Here is an interesting article from Hay and Forage Grower concerning hay prices.
http://hayandforage.com/alfalfa/short-acres-strong-export-sales-boost-washington-prices
There is one large hay broker and at least 1 large grower in Culver that are quoting $240 for this years 1st OG. They are starting off where the left off for last years 2nd and 3rd OG. I put up about 500 tons of OG and have told my customers $225 for 1st, last years prices. No resistance yet. There is a net loss of OG acres this year in the Culver/Madras area.
Alot of rain damaged Alfalfa in Culver/Madras. They cut about 1,000 acres 2+ weeks ago before the rain. It will obviously go into big bales. Some still has some color and some does not. The RFV is going to be down.
buying hay has becoma so frustrating…I am sure that all of the feed stores here in Sonoma County have the same source for hay, and this year the quality seems low (based on how my horses look and how much I have to feed them to maintain weight), but price continues to be high. I am paying more that $21.00 per bale! It isn’t an option to ‘buy another brand’ as can be done with other products, and horses have to eat, we can’t ‘skip it’ due to cost…recreational horse owners are sure stuck, especially owning just a few and only buying in 20 or so bales at a time…
Glad I found this website, maybe it will help me out in some way!