131 million – that’s 131 million tons. And that’s roughly the weight of 4,367 school buses, which is how much dry hay was harvested in the U.S. in 2017. Add to that corn silage and greenchop, and the forage total would reach the weight of over 8,392 school buses (at 30,000 pounds apiece).
53.8 million acres – that’s larger than the total state of Kansas, and that’s how many acres of hay were harvested in the U.S. in 2017.
Want to know more U.S. forage statistics? For a snapshot of U.S. hay and silage production, and to see where your state ranks, check out this slideshow and share it with your friends and customers. Staff photos.
See more statistics here.

All dry hay production: 131 million tons
All dry hay area harvested: 53.8 million acres
Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures production: 55.1 million tons
Total alfalfa acres harvested: 16.6 million acres
New alfalfa acres seeded: 2.21 million acres
Corn silage production: 128.4 million tons
Corn silage acres harvested: 6.43 million
Top 10 all-forage production states: 1. Wisconsin, 2. New York, 3. Pennsylvania, 4. Texas, 4. California, 6. Minnesota, 7. Kansas, 8. South Dakota, 9. Idaho, 10. Michigan
Top 10 all-hay production states: 1. Texas, 2. South Dakota, 3. Missouri, 4. Oklahoma, 5. Kansas, 6. North Dakota, 7. Nebraska, 8. Montana, 9. Kentucky, 10. Tennessee
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131 million – that’s 131 million tons. And that’s roughly the weight of 4,367 school buses, which is how much dry hay was harvested in the U.S. in 2017. Add to that corn silage and greenchop, and the forage total would reach the weight of over 8,392 school buses (at 30,000 pounds apiece).
53.8 million acres – that’s larger than the total state of Kansas, and that’s how many acres of hay were harvested in the U.S. in 2017.
Want to know more U.S. forage statistics? For a snapshot of U.S. hay and silage production, and to see where your state ranks, check out this slideshow and share it with your friends and customers. Staff photos.
See more statistics here.
All dry hay production: 131 million tons
All dry hay area harvested: 53.8 million acres
Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures production: 55.1 million tons
Total alfalfa acres harvested: 16.6 million acres
New alfalfa acres seeded: 2.21 million acres
Corn silage production: 128.4 million tons
Corn silage acres harvested: 6.43 million
Top 10 all-forage production states: 1. Wisconsin, 2. New York, 3. Pennsylvania, 4. Texas, 4. California, 6. Minnesota, 7. Kansas, 8. South Dakota, 9. Idaho, 10. Michigan
Top 10 all-hay production states: 1. Texas, 2. South Dakota, 3. Missouri, 4. Oklahoma, 5. Kansas, 6. North Dakota, 7. Nebraska, 8. Montana, 9. Kentucky, 10. Tennessee
To see where your state ranked, go to progressiveforage.com/stats