Timothy and Alfalfa Hay Blog

The last week or so has brought serious transportation and shipping challenges as winter finally hits the Pacific Northwest. The Governors of both Oregon and Washington have declared a State of Emergency for their states. With snow, ice and now flooding crippling the flow of transportation, the team at Anderson Hay is working hard to keep our shipments going. Along with snow closing several critical mountain passes, many ports experienced closures as much of the Seattle metro area shut down last week. Anderson Hay has been able to trouble shoot the numerous weather related issues without any major problems arising.

All horse owners share a common decision that directly affects the health, performance and well-being of their horses: their choice of diet. Scientists have recently studied the effects of nutrition on performance horses and have created methods for feeding and management to increase athletic ability, minimize or delay the onset of fatigue, and significantly reduce horse injuries. The primary staple of a horse’s diet that is often undervalued is hay; the performance of your horse is ultimately determined by the quality of hay that it consumes.

Livestock raised for milk production are representative of what they eat in terms of physical health, but also in terms of the quality of the milk they produce.  If you're in the dairy business, you know maintaining quality and quantity of milk production is key to maintaining profitability in today's volatile markets. Your top concern should be the quality of feed you're using to catalyze milk production in your livestock.  If your herd does not have access to feed that has been harvested at the right time, if forage is grown in poorly maintained soil conditions, or if it is allowed to collect dust, mold spores, and other pollutants during storage and transport, your herd, and milk supply, will suffer.

When you purchase hay, whether Alfalfa, Timothy or other grass hay, do you really know what you are buying? At Anderson Hay, our investment in quality control and technology allows us to ensure a safe, traceable supply of feed for our customers. Anderson Hay’s Safe Feed initiative follows a series of rigid protocols and quality checks to ensure the traceability of each bale of hay sold.

As the winter weather has arrived, it’s time to think about highway safety. As the leading exporter of hay and straw products in the world, Anderson Hay is commited to safe, on time delivery of our products to ports along the west coast. This means that our truck drivers are navigating ddaily through adverse weather conditions. Our highest priority is the safety of our team and others on the road as they travel throughout the Western United States this winter. Many start their days long before the sun rises and while the rest of us are still warm in our beds. There are also many who are still traveling after the sun has set and we are home safe with our families. Our team members are out on the roads, crossing mountain passes and battling adverse weather conditions. They venture into wind, ice and snow to ensure safe delivery.

With numerous factors affecting this year’s Alfalfa market, exporters have had to work hard to secure the quality required by customers.

Perhaps the most troubling, the weather during the spring and summer has taken its toll. With unstable weather conditions persisting through most of the harvest season, many growers chose to focus on producing the most tonnage from their fields instead of the highest quality. As fields were allowed to mature, the crude protein and relative feed value of the hay decreased. The premium quality traditionally exported from the western U.S. will be in limited supply.

In addition to weather creating problems for growing hay, the demand has also caused some changes in the market.

With the big swing in temperatures during a 24 hour period in the South Columbia Basin, heavier dews have been falling on the Alfalfa fields. The early morning dews help with leaf retention. However, as the sun evaporates the dew, the Alfalfa is susceptible to bleaching. Gentle winds over the next week or so will help growers to put up a nice 4^th cutting Alfalfa crop. A few growers in the North Basin will be working for a 4^th cutting later on this week.

This year’s Alfalfa harvest got a rocky start but looks to end on a high note. The 3^rd cutting harvest is wrapped up in the South Basin and the North Basin will soon follow. A few growers in the South Basin will take advantage of the warm weather we have had to take a 4^th cutting. Some of the alfalfa from the North Basin was subjected to heavy dews early in the 3^rd cutting harvest. Those bales show some light bleaching. The fields cut and baled during the warmer weeks should be a higher quality. The majority of the growers in the North Basin focused on harvesting for high tonnage instead of high quality. Because of this most of the hay, though a nice green color, will be a little over mature to make a premium grade. In addition, supplies of 3-tie 3rd cutting Alfalfa from the Basin will be limited. We will see much more big bale from that region.

The 3^rd cutting Alfalfa harvest is finished up in the South Columbia Basin. With the positive turn in the weather over the last month, most will be taking a 4^th cutting. The warm and dry weather are forecasted to continue through September and will allow growers to put up the best possible 4^th cutting Alfalfa. Harvest should begin in the next 7-10 days.

With good weather conditions across the Pacific North West, harvest activities are going well. Warmer temperatures and dry weather has been a welcome sight for growers.