News

Producers urged to test hay quality

Hay supplies remain adequate in much of cattle country.

But the market news manager for the Missouri Department of Agriculture says any hay that’s purchased needs to be tested.  “A lot of that hay is probably not as good as what you might be told it is,” he says. 

Tony Hancock tells Brownfield grass hay hasn’t tested well this year.  “So a lot of guys are having to add some kind of supplement to that hay to make a good diet, especially during these cold spells we have had,” he says. “But I guess luckily corn prices are cheap, so that helps out a little bit.”

He says it’s about mid-point of hay-feeding season and there hasn’t been a serious uptick in demand.  Hancock says prices have been holding steady.