Spring Hay Stocks Increase 17%

WASHINGTON - May 12/04 - SNS -- All hay stored on farms May 1, 2004 totaled 25.9 million tons, up 17% from the previous year, according to the latest USDA crop report.

"This increase was mainly the result of a higher hay production in 2003," said the USDA Disappearance of hay from December 1, 2003 - May 1, 2004, totaled 84.9 million tons, 5% greater than the disappearance of 81.0 million tons for the same period a year earlier. Disappearance was up from the previous year despite the mild winter in the Corn Belt and Rocky Mountains.

Thirty-three of the 48 reporting States had higher hay stocks than a year ago. Most of the States reporting an increase in stocks were located in the eastern and central Corn Belt, Southeast, central Great Plains, central Rocky Mountains, and along the middle Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. Compared to May 2003, stocks more than doubled in the Ohio Valley due to an increase in production and mild winter weather.

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