Hay Continued from Page 1
organic and conventional hay in Sonoma County, said he does not foresee farmers pulling out orchards to plant more hay, though higher hay prices might slow the transition of hay ground to trees.
hay—something they normally wouldn’t do until August. A lot of her hay typically goes outside the region, including to ex- portmarkets, but this year, she said itmay be thatmorewill stay closer to home.
silage—which represent a significant part ofhiswinter ration—muchearlier thisyear. When those supplies run short, he would then need to feedmore byproducts such asalmondhulls,whichhesaidhe’snot sure will be available.
“My hay-hauling friends over here are very, very busy right now, because the dairies are trying to buy up anything they can out there early, before it’s gone,” he said. “I thinkmost dairies understand the need toget it now, because it’snot going to be there later.” As withmost hay farmers in his region, Carstensen relies on rainfall to make his crop—primarilyoat andryehay—andsaid he will probably have about 60% of nor- mal yields.Havinganticipated thedryyear wouldreducehis tonnage—and that there would be greater demand from his cus- tomers—hesaidheplantedhayonground he initially intended to fallowas part of his regular rotation. Total California hay acreage has been declining for years—falling to 825,000 acres last year, the lowest on record and a drop of more than 18% from 2019. California farmers are expected to devote 840,000 acres to hay this year, based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate inMarch. As a hay broker, Danny Winters, who ownsNorthBayHayandGraininPetaluma, said he’s having to look to statesmuch far- ther away—such as Utah and Idaho—to obtain organic hay, most of which usual- ly comes from Oregon and Nevada and goes to dairy farmers in Sonoma County. Whether it’s milking-quality hay or low- er-quality hay for dry cows, he said the av- eragepriceacross theboardisup$40to$50 a ton compared to last year. With regional hay supplies “very tight,” and with Klamath Basin growers also facing water restrictions, Winters said he thinks it’s possible some of his dairy customers could run out of organic feed. Because of the shortage, he said federal organic regulators should consider allow- ingorganicdairies tousenon-GMOfeedto get themthrough this year, until newcrops can be produced. “We’redefinitely inunchartedterritory,” Winters said. A larger problem, he said, has been trying to deliver feed supplies to cus- tomers due to a shortage of truck drivers. The problem is so serious, he said, that he’s now advising customers not to wait: “When we get it in the bale and we need to get it there, it needs to happen now, or you will not get the product.” With truck- ing rates surging due to longer hauls and higher fuel costs, he said he expects such compounding factorswill “majorly impact the solvency” of dairy operations. Noting that his own silage crop was off by about 20% this year, Sonoma County dairy farmerDougBeretta saidhis biggest concern is whether he’ll be able to find enough hay if it’s not available from his normal suppliers. “I know some guys who have gone all theway to the Imperial Valley (for organic hay),” he said. Beretta’s organic dairy is one of a few in the region that hasaccess topasture irriga- tion through reclaimed wastewater from the city of Santa Rosa—but that water has been cut 60% this year. Beretta said he ex- pects he will need to feed more hay and
FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION HERBICIDE EC FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION HERBICIDE EC HERBICIDE EC ® ® SUPPRESS ® Herbicide EC is a broad spectrum contact herbicide for post-emergent, non-selective weed control for all food and non-food crops. • Excellent tool in in organic and IPM programs • Helps break chemical resistance • Zero pre-harvest interval (PHI) • Safe for pollinators and beneficials • Non-volatile, emulsifiable concentrate • OMRI and WSDA listed for certified organic crop production. Win the War on Weeds! Provides fast burndown! Agricultural Market Review Quotations are the latest available for the week ending June 4, 2021 Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week Livestock Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1050–1150 lbs., $ per cwt. 110-120 No Quote 116-120 Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $ per cwt. 52.59 112.11 114.51 Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales No Quote 175-244.14 170-245 Field crops – basis prompt shipment Barley – U.S. No. 2, $ per cwt. Truck, Stockton-Modesto-Oakdale-Turlock 9.25 (Kings-Fresno) 13 12.50 Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market 60.45 76.62 77.94 Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $ per cwt. trucked 8.43 8.42 8.39 Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain 190-220 (P/S) 210-240 (P/S) No Quote Region 2, Sacramento Valley 180-240 (F/G/P) No Quote 250-260 (P/S) Region 3, Northern San Joaquin Valley 200-275 (P/S) 240-300 (P/S) 270-280 (P/S) Region 4, Central San Joaquin Valley 235 (S) No Quote 235 (G) Region 5, Southern California 275 (P) 240-260 (G/P/S) 250-265 (P/S) Region 6, Southeast Interior 150-170 (G/P) 220-227 (P/S) 215-265 (P/S) Oat Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Northern California, dairy No Quote No Quote No Quote Oats – U.S. No. 2 white, $ per cwt. Statewide, trucked price 170 (G) No Quote 200-220 (P) Dry Beans – Grower FOB prices Baby Limas, $ per cwt, (sacked) No Quote No Quote No Quote Large Limas, $ per cwt. (sacked) No Quote No Quote No Quote Blackeye, $ per cwt. (sacked) No Quote No Quote No Quote Rice – Milled No. 1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt. 38-42 39-43 39-43 Wheat – U.S. No. 2 or better, winter, $ per cwt. 13% protein, Los Angeles, trucked price 9 11.75-12.25 (No. 1) 11.50-12.25 (No. 1) Provided by the California Farm Bureau as a service to Farm Bureau members. Information supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News Branch. * ADF=Acid detergent fiber; (S) = Supreme/<27%ADF; (P) = Premium/27-29; (G) = Good/29-32; (F) = Fair/32-35. At Alturas Ranches in Modoc County, which produces conventional alfalfa hay and other feed, CEO Leslie Boyle said she’s beenhearing fromrancherswho are concerned about short forage supplies, withmany wanting to place a hold on her “We’re not coming out of this last year with any hay stocks remaining,” she said. “Anythingwegrowthisyear, it’sgoing tobe used. There’s no extra.” (Ching Lee is assistant editor of Ag Alert. Shemay be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.) Anticipatingadifficult feedyear, Beretta said he sold 20 cows in February and will sell another 20 heifers, adding he may need to cull evenharder as feeddwindles. After several years of lowermilkprices, he said it will be tough “to come up with the money to pay the premium for this hay.” Organic hay has becomemuch scarcer because fewer farmers are willing to grow it as the price gap between conventional and organic hay narrows, people in the business say. Hay broker Winters noted he lost sup- plies from two big ranches inNevada due to aphid infestations, with the farmers de- ciding to use a pesticide that will take the ground out of organic production for at least several years. But, hesaid, once farms transition out of organic, “they generally don’t come back.” Needing to clean up an infestation of noxiousweedswithanherbicide, Sonoma County hay farmer Norm Yenni said this will behis last year producingorganichay, which already represented only about 2.5%of his total acreage. With a 50% loss in yield this year, Yenni said he definitely has more demand than supply, even after baling about 500 acres he originally intended to harvest for grain. Though he’s raised prices about 20%, he saiditwon’toffset thelowerproductionand “makemewhole towhere Iwas last year.” After years of lower hay prices, Kings County farmer Stan Azevedo said he con- verted some of his hay ground to walnuts and pistachios, figuring they would be more profitable.With the price of hay sky- rocketing thisyear, hesaidhemadeaprofit onhis oat hay and“didn’t evenbreakeven on the trees,” as the price of nuts also fell. Even though the market for nuts has been softening, Brian Gilardi, who grows
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June 9, 2021 Ag Alert 19
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