Hay Harvested Expected to Slip

WASHINGTON - Mar 31/06 - SNS -- U.S. hay producers expect to harvest 61.5 million acres of all hay in 2006, down fractionally from 2005, according to the USDA.

With the exception of Oklahoma, harvested acres are expected to decline or remain unchanged from last year throughout the Great Plains and adjacent areas of the Corn Belt. The State with the largest expected increase is Oklahoma, up 180,000 acres from last year.

Wildfires and drought conditions during last fall and winter in Oklahoma combined to limit available pasture and increase supplemental feeding. With hay supplies low, farmers in Oklahoma are expecting to harvest more hay acres this year.

The States with the largest decrease in harvested area are North Dakota and Texas, with expected declines of 430,000 and 350,000 acres, respectively, from 2005.

Drought conditions have been so severe in Texas that farmers have low expectations about the amount of hay ground they will be able to harvest this year, despite the current low hay supplies in the State.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here