August 30, 2007

US hay production set to increase this year

Hay production in 2007 is seen to reach at 145 million tonnes, up 3.6 million from last year on increased area of harvest, according to the August 14 Feed Outlook report issued by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

ERS said the all-hay yield is expected to be 2.35 tonnes per acre, up from 2.33 tonnes per acre in 2006.  The agency also reported harvested acres are unchanged from last month at 61.8 million acres, up from 60.8 million last year.

Alfalfa hay production, at 70 million tonnes, decreased 1.8 million tonnes from 2006, according to ERS. It also forecasted alfalfa yields at 3.26 tonnes per acre, down from 3.35 tonnes in 2006. Harvested area is 21.5 million acres, unchanged from June but up 67,000 acres from 2006.

Other hay production is seen at 75.3 million tonnes, up 5.3 million from last year, with yields averaging 1.87 tonnes per acre compared with 1.78 tonnes last year.

Roughage-consuming animal units (RCAU) in 2007-08 were estimated to increase to 339,000 units from 2006-07, ERS said. With hay production and RCAU up but beginning hay stocks down, the hay supply is down from last year, and supply per RCAU is 2.21 tonnes compared with 2.26 tonnes in 2006-07.

According to the agency, the weighted average price farmers received for all hay was US$109.00 per tonne in 2006-07, up from US$98.20 in 2005-06. The alfalfa hay price in 2006-07 was US$113.00 per tonne compared with US$104.00 in 2005-06. The weighted average price farmers received for hay other than alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures was US$95.00 per tonne in 2006-07, up from US$81.40 in 2005-06.