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Record rainfall is bad news for hay production
"The ground is so saturated that when you walk across the fields, they just stink," Bill Garret said. "We are just waiting on dry weather and trying not to hurt the alfalfa stands too much," Garrett said. By Doug Rich The sweet smell of freshly cut hay has been replaced by the sour smell of water logged hay fields this summer in southwest Missouri. "The ground is so saturated that when you walk across the fields, they just stink," Bill Garrett, Golden City, Mo., said. Normally, from December to May, Missouri receives an average 18.72 inches of rain. This year during that same time period Missouri received over 30 inches of rainfall. That breaks the record set in 1973 when 29.21 inches of rain fell during the December to May time period. The effect on the hay crop has been significant. According to a report from the Missouri Agricultural Statistic Office by June 22 only 79 percent of the first cutting of alfalfa had been completed. Historically 96 percent of the first cutting of alfalfa is done at this time. For all other hay only 42 percent had been cut. Normally 71 percent has been cut by June 22. Nationally, Missouri ranks third in hay production most years. In 2007, Missouri produced 7,528,000 tons of hay including alfalfa and grass hay. Making hay in southwest Missouri has been tough the last few years. Garrett said two years ago they were in a drought, last year the freeze hurt the alfalfa crop, and this year excessive rainfall has hurt the crop. First cut "I sowed the first new 40 acres of alfalfa in four years because we have had such dry falls that I could not even think about sowing alfalfa and getting it up," Garrett said. "This first cutting on that field is laid over in full bloom, but the ground is too wet to run the mower over." Garrett was able to bale some alfalfa fields but he is afraid that he hurt the second cutting so bad from baling when that ground was wet that there may not be anything to cut. "I think we will sacrifice some more acres this year before it is all said and done," Garrett said. Even the early hay they did bale has been lower quality due to a lack of sunshine and dry weather. Normally they get five to six cuttings of alfalfa in southwest Missouri but the last four years they have done well to get three to four cuttings. Dry weather and the freeze really set the alfalfa crop back last year. Then it was wet in May and June. "We cut right after the freeze last year and then it just started raining," Garrett said. "We cut the second time on June 18 last year and this year by June 20 we still have the first cutting to finish." Garrett has been in the hay business for several years. He started in the 1970s when he farmed near Hiatville, Kan., hauling prairie hay from Missouri to feedlots and sale barns in western Kansas and back-hauling alfalfa to dairy farms in Missouri. In 1994 he and his family moved to Missouri and continued their hay business. "We started out mostly baling straw and trucking in alfalfa from Kansas," Garrett said. At that time he was hauling straw to mulchers in Arkansas who used it for highway construction projects. One of those men retired and the other sold out to a bigger company closing down that market for straw. Bale straw Garrett then sold a lot of straw to hog farms and dairy farms in Nebraska and Iowa for a while, but that market is gone now too. In 1996 when alfalfa was selling for $100 a ton in Kansas, Garrett decided to raise his own. "In 1998 I couldn't turn down land fast enough there were so many people wanting to get into the alfalfa business," Garrett said. "We baled on shares because even then the land was too expensive to buy and pay for it along with machinery." Four years ago Garrett and his son, Jordan, were cutting 900 acres of alfalfa. Then the drought hit and the price of corn started to go up. Garrett said even though alfalfa is $150 a ton there is still more money in corn. "We have had to downsize because we cannot get farmers to plant back alfalfa and you can't follow alfalfa with alfalfa," Garrett said. This year he is down to 450 acres of alfalfa and, as of June 20, they still had 120 acres they had not baled the first time. Garrett has been able to find a market for the wet hay this year. He silage baled most of the first cutting and wrapped it in plastic. This way they mow one day and bale the next. This is the only way they could get in the six days of baling they have had so far. It is a slow process. They are only able to do 30 to 40 acres a day instead of 100 acres a day. Garrett is selling this hay to a grass-based dairy near Lockwood. In a good year Garrett will put up 20,000 bales of hay, including alfalfa and grass hay. "We bale anything we can bale," Garrett said. Square bales Most of the hay, particularly the high quality hay, is put up in 3x3x8 medium-sized square bales. Normally only 30 percent of their hay is put up in big round bales. Last year was the exception. Tonnage on their alfalfa was down and they did more custom baling so they made more round bales last year. The market for mulching straw is back and most of that is put up in small squares. Freight costs are up and small squares are easier and more economical to transport. The price of diesel fuel has really had an effect on Garrett's hay business. He has three trucks and for years they were a big source of income. "We sold four semi-truck loads of hay two years ago," Garrett said. When they were hauling a load a day it was not practical to find a back-haul. Today that back-haul load is very important. Garrett bales 100 acres of brome hay and even with the wet weather the quality has not been too bad so far this year. The tonnage will be excellent if they can just get a window to put it up. "We are in the survival mode," Garrett said. "We are just waiting on dry weather and trying not to hurt the alfalfa stands too much." Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. 7/14/08 Date: 7/10/08 Advertisement
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