Forage Production

True or false: Hay is priced, along with other farm commodities, with its value dictated by recent and local auction prices.

It is 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and the hay is just finally dry enough to bale. On the first round in the field, my pocket vibrates just as my radio sitting in the cup holders starts to blast; it must be bad news.

From the first mower pass to the last load of silage, every step a producer takes can affect the nutritional value and profitability of their forage crop in some way.

What happens during the first 24 hours after a bale of silage is formed but not yet wrapped? Can forage quality be improved if the bale is wrapped even sooner than 24 hours after baling? The short answer is: yes.

Miles and Caleb von Stein grew up making hay on a small scale for family and neighbors in northwestern Ohio, and they thought expanding might be a way to get into farming as young people where most land is in corn and soybeans.

In economics, the simplest you can get is supply and demand. These two items will just about determine a price for any commodity. The hay market is no different. Both the supply and demand side have their own factors that influence them.