2% Drop in U.S. Hay Area

WASHINGTON - Jun 30/08 - SNS --American producers expect to harvest 60.4 million acres of all hay in 2008, down 2% from 2007, according to the USDA's seeded area estimates.

Harvested area is expected to decrease from last year throughout the Great Plains and the West. Increased acres are expected to be harvested along the East Coast.

Expected harvested area of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures, at 20.8 million acres, is down 4% from 2007. Acreage decreased in the Corn Belt, the Southeast, and most of the western United States, while acreage increases are expected in the Rocky Mountain States and portions of the Northeast.

Expected area for harvest of all other types of hay totals 39.7 million acres, down 1% from the 40.0 million acres harvested in 2007. Lower harvested acreage is expected in the West Coast, Southwest, and Southern Great Plains portions of the U.S., while increased acreage is expected along the Atlantic Coast, northern Rockies, and northern Great Plains.

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