USDA Crop Production
12 January 2012
USDA Crop Production: US Hay Stocks on Farms Down 11 Percent
Hay stocks decreased across much of the Nation's midsection. In most cases, these decreases were attributed to an unusually dry year that negatively impacted hay production.December Agricultural Summary
Temperatures from the northern Rocky Mountains to the Southeast and
along the Atlantic Coast were well above average during December,
giving producers in many areas additional time to complete late-season
fieldwork. Most notably, portions of Montana, North Dakota, and
Minnesota recorded temperatures more than 10 degrees above normal.
Elsewhere, fruit and vegetable producers across much of California ran
freeze protection late in the month as temperatures dropped into the
upper 20s in major producing areas.
Precipitation was well above normal for much of the Corn Belt, Four
Corners region, southern Great Plains, and Ohio Valley during the
month. In Ohio, topsoil moisture levels were reported as 86 per cent
surplus on 11 December, leaving producers with corn or soybeans still
in the fields waiting until the ground froze to continue harvesting
their crops.
Late-season row crop harvesting continued in many southern States
throughout December, but was mostly complete as the month ended. In
Arizona, small grain producers were busy seeding barley and Durum
wheat, with nearly half and over one-quarter of the crops in the
ground, respectively. Fruit and vegetable producers in the major
producing States harvested and shipped a variety of crops throughout
the month, with replanting ongoing as conditions allowed.
Hay stocks on farms
All hay stored on farms 1 December 2011 totaled 90.7 million tons,
down 11 per cent from a year ago. This is the lowest 1 December stocks
on hand for the United States since 1988. Disappearance from 1 May
2011-1 Decmeber 2011 totaled 62.6 million tons, compared with 64.4
million tons for the same period a year ago.
Compared with last year, hay stocks decreased across much of the
Nation’s midsection. In most cases, these decreases were
attributed to an unusually dry year that negatively impacted hay
production, as well as pasture and rangeland. Many producers began
feeding livestock early to help offset the lack of available
feedstuffs.
Stocks on hand were the lowest since 1985 in Oklahoma and Texas, two
States that were hit hardest by this year’s prolonged drought.
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