Bountiful hay yield a reminder of rains

KALISPELL, Mont. – Montana’s heavy moisture in late spring and early summer may not have been ideal for those who tire of mowing their lawns, but for hay producers, who love seeing tall grass, it was a beautiful greeting to the growing season.

After the summer’s first cutting, hay growers across the state are reporting high yields of both alfalfa and grass hay. Vigorous production rates, coupled with a high forecast in total harvested acreage, are leading some to predict a drop in hay prices.

Ken Smith, a farmer in the Flathead Valley, said he was getting about a half-ton of hay per acre last year. This year, production has jumped threefold. Smith, who grows predominantly alfalfa, said he didn’t need to use irrigation for his first cutting, the only time that’s happened in at least 20 years.

“We’re going see bumper crops in hay and in grain,” Smith said, adding that he expects hay prices to “soften some.”

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the July crop forecast calls for 2.7 million harvested acres of total hay in Montana, the second most recorded, and 1.8 million acres of alfalfa hay, the most ever.

A NASS forecast released in August estimated production at 5.6 million tons, the second-highest recorded after 2005, when 5.8 million tons of hay were produced.

In 2008, the average price of hay in Montana was a record-high $116 per ton, according to NASS, with some farmers reporting that they paid as high as $200 per ton. September’s average price was $128 per ton.

From June through August of this year, hay prices have remained steady at about $100 per ton, which is lower than last summer.

Elevated hay prices send ripples throughout the agricultural community and can have dramatic effects on the bottom lines of livestock owners. When prices skyrocketed in 2008, horse owners around the nation said they were struggling to feed their animals.

Jane Heath, executive director of the Montana Horse Sanctuary in Simms, said hay prices are “always on our radar.” The sanctuary takes in horses in need and conducts outreach programs for horse owners with financial difficulties. Heath said her organization administers a “hay grant,” in which people can apply up to twice for $300 for hay and other feeds.

Heath said she’s “already seen slightly lower prices,” but the true litmus test will come later, after the rest of the harvest and when people are bracing for winter.

“It will be interesting to see what the second cutting will bring, or if there will be a third cutting in some communities,” Heath said. “By the end of September, people know if they’ll have enough hay for the winter.”

Hot, dry weather, on the heels of a prolonged period of moisture, has ushered in ideal harvest conditions, said Lola Raska, executive vice president of the Montana Grain Growers Association.

“Overall, growers around the state are pretty optimistic this is going to be a good year production-wise,” Raska said.