FORT ATKINSON, Wis. — U.S. hay prices have remained stable for more than a year.
“Hay prices have not changed dramatically for quite some time,” said Mike Rankin, managing editor of Hay and Forage Grower magazine. “You have to go back to July 2019 when hay was at $183 per ton to get out of the $170 to $180 per ton range.”
Typically, hay prices are the highest during April to May, Rankin said during a webinar organized by Hoard’s Dairyman.
“We didn’t have as high of a bump this year as we often do,” Rankin said.
“Last year we had one of the lowest hay stocks as of May 1 as we’ve had in quite a number of years,” he said. “We don’t make as much hay or feed as much hay through the winter as we once did.”
For the 17 states that produce the most hay in the United States, the production of alfalfa hay from 2005 to 2019 declined by 33%, Rankin said. Haylage production during that same period declined by 18% and corn silage acres increased 14%.
“Most of the decline in haylage is being taken up by the increase in corn silage,” Rankin said.
“One state that has really dropped alfalfa hay acres is California that had 1 million acres of hay in 2009 and this year that state is forecasted to be around 350,000 acres,” he said. “A lot of those acres are taken up by nut trees.”
Excess to adequate inventory of hay exists on most farms, Rankin said.
“Forage quality appears to be as good or better than last year,” he said. “And for corn silage the planting season was more favorable than last year.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts a drop of 6% in alfalfa production acres for 2020.
“We won’t know the actual numbers until January,” Rankin said.
“Exports of alfalfa hay are up about 6% compared to last year with China back in the game,” he said. “That helps to bolster hay prices in the West.”
“There is more digestibility coming from the corn crop this year,” said Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois Extension dairy specialist, emeritus, based on the 35,000 samples of corn silage tested at Dairyland Labs.
“For the BMR corn silage the NDF (neutral detergent fiber) digestibility is six points higher and the undigested NDF is lower so you should be able to put a little more of this feed into the ration,” said Hutjens, who also spoke during the webinar.
“It appears we have good corn silage this year and about 70% of the starch should be available in the rumen,” he said. “After three to four months in storage, this number will go up.”
For haylage, Hutjens said, the lab has tested about 14,000 samples.
"There is about a one point increase in NDF digestibility this year so it's not quite as dramatic as corn silage," he reported. "The RFQ (relative forage quality) at 161 is a big number and good enough for dairy cows."
Hutjens encourages all dairymen to do a forage inventory now to determine if they have enough feed for their dairy herd.
“A 1,400-pound Holstein cow that eats 2% of her body weight needs 28 pounds of forage per day,” he said. “Multiply that by 365 days and you need 5.1 tons of dry matter per cow per year.”
In addition, Hutjens adjusted for loss of 6%.
“That means you need 5.5 tons of dry matter per cow per year,” he said. “If you need more feed look at forage extenders and byproduct feeds like soy hulls, citrus pulp or beet pulp.”
The spread between the current price and breakeven for corn gluten feed and distillers grains had really tighten up, Hutjens said.
“It use to be a super good deal, but some of the plants are shut down now,” he said. “Hominy is really well priced now and that can be a corn stretcher.”
Another option for dairymen to put into rations is fuzzy cottonseed.
“Usually you will see the lowest cottonseed prices in October and November,” Hutjens said.
For dairymen with drought-stressed corn silage, he said, the feed value may be variable.
“The NDF digestibility could be higher and there is probably not much starch there, but nitrates should not be a problem,” he said.
Dairymen should monitor the drought-stressed corn silage.
“If you have it stored in a bag or different bunker, that gives you flexibility to blend feedstuffs,” Hutjens said.
With the warmer than typical temperatures, some dairymen in Illinois harvested a sixth crop of alfalfa in November.
“That feed may not ferment, so feed it up now,” Hutjens said.
“I think you really need to look at forage extenders that can be used to limit dry matter intake in certain groups of cattle,” he said. “It is another way to control body condition and weight gain by slowing the rate of passage which improves feed efficiency and digestibility.”
Forage extenders can include straw, cornstalks, low quality legume grass or corn cobs.
“The guideline for forage extenders is to limit them at 0.5 to 2 pounds per day because they can really slow down and reduce dry matter intake,” Hutjens said.