alfalfa hay

The 2025 Northwest Hay Expo will take place in the Tri-Cities next week.  Andrew Eddie, President of the Washington State Hay Growers Association, said this year’s classes and education opportunities will focus on trends in the industry, helping growers improve business practices.   "It wa...

USDA’s October crop production forecast show mixed numbers for Northwest crops.   Idaho is expected to harvest 93,000 acres of canola this year, resulting in 67 million pounds.  The yield is forecast at 1,800 pounds per acre.  Meanwhile, Wa...

University of Idaho Extension forage and small grains researchers are testing a seemingly counterintuitive theory that local farmers could reap rewards by planting alfalfa varieties that weren’t bred to withstand Idaho’s cold winters.

Why is the reported average yield of alfalfa for US farms well below the potential of what growers could actually produce?

While it wasn’t the worst on record, this was not the best year for Washington hay growers either.  Andrew Eddie, Vice President with the Washington State Hay Growers Association, said many growers were down on tonnage because the first cut was pushed back thanks to the cold, wet spring.  He added that...

As we move into the 2nd half of October and harvest picks up, the 2022 crop numbers are a mixed bag.   According to NASS, Washington canola production is forecast at 231 million pounds, up 62% year-over-year.  Harvested area, at 130,000 acres, is unchanged from 2021.  Yield i...

After taking a year off, the 2021 Western Alfalfa & Forage Symposium will be held in-person November 16th-18th, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV. Organizers said this year, an agricultural educational tour of Nevada is being offered, visiting a dairy, a specialized goat dairy, distillery, the Derby Dam and Newlands water project, and a hay export operation. Early ...

The drought across the Northwest has been brewing for some time, with much of the region not seeing a large precipitation event since March. And with soil moisture levels so low to start July, it could be a long summer for many growers, such as Idaho hay producers ...

According to the latest Acreage Report, hay production is expected to be down again this year. When it comes to alfalfa hay, NASS' Lance Honig said, "16.1 million acres expected to be harvested this year. It's down 0.7% from what was actually harvested last year ...

The owner of a horse farm southwest of Portland faces a felony charge for animal neglect, after investigators found nearly 50 horses they say were not being given adequate food or water. Because of the number of animals on the property, Susan Swango, 82, faces one count of 2nd Degree animal neglect ...