It’s been a sizzling and dry summer time for a lot of elements of Kansas, however particularly for the southwest nook of the state. Dry situations have led to a serious lower in alfalfa manufacturing in 2022, and that might result in challenges for livestock producers this fall and winter.
Kim Nettleton is the hay market reporter for the Kansas Division of Agriculture. She and others spoke throughout the on-line Feed and Forage Sector breakout session held previous to the 2022 Kansas Agriculture Development Summit. She stated the farmers she talks to haven’t seen drought results this dangerous in a decade.
“Acres had been down to start with after which, with the drought, the cuttings are shorter and we simply aren’t getting the tons of alfalfa that we’d in a traditional yr — no matter that’s nowadays,” she stated. That drought additionally affected pastures and grass manufacturing, resulting in cattle producers and dairy producers turning to baled forage to feed their herds sooner than common. That’s led to greater priced hay market, she added.
Pat Barry, with Forage Genetics Worldwide, an alfalfa analysis firm, says Kansas additionally continues to draw dairies from California and different states, which creates a better demand for alfalfa as properly.
On the finish of July, and on into August, Nettleton stated she was seeing a stall in hay motion among the many sellers who contribute gross sales reviews to KDA. “They’re both stockpiling it for their very own use, or they simply don’t have it, in order quickly as they get it, it’s gone,” she stated.
Shares already depleted
We have already got depleted shares, and we’re going into the most popular and driest a part of the yr, which is regarding, she added. The story is identical for brome, prairie grass, even sudangrass and triticale, she stated. Third-cutting manufacturing this summer time is half of what it usually is that this time of yr, and that’s going to push manufacturing down even additional.
Alternatively, the drought might push extra corn into silage shares, which might fill that demand.
The important thing a part of the Kansas Ag Summit is figuring out challenges, alternatives and priorities for every sector of the state’s economic system, and the way they could be addressed.
The feed and forage sector continues to be challenged not solely by climate and decreased acres for alfalfa or grass hay, but in addition by the excessive prices of inputs and provide chain logistics.
There are some alternatives for the sector, although, to make use of expertise and innovation to advertise the message that alfalfa and different forage crops have a robust function to play in carbon sequestration. General, the sector’s stakeholders wish to see enhanced threat administration choices for forages, particularly in gentle of the drought situations they confronted this yr. They’d additionally wish to see extra Kansas State College Analysis and Extension forage personnel, and extra funding for feed and forage analysis.
To see the total breakout session recording, go to youtube.com/watch?v=T3Gy3OXVz_o.
And to see supplies from this sector session and others, go to agriculture.ks.gov/aggrowthstrategy/ag-summit-2022.
