Area hay growers late with second cutting
Bales of hay are picked up along Interstate 90. Some farmers haven't yet started their second cuttings of hay because of weather-related delays from the first cutting.
Governor asks for disaster aid in Grant and Adams counties
MOSES LAKE — Grant County hay growers say they’re between two and four weeks late with starting their second cuttings.
They blame May’s record rainfall, loss of quality in the first cutting and yield loss for the effects on their crops.
Growers are expected to see a 20- to 25-percent loss in gross profits this year, said Warden grower Shawn Clausen.
As a result, Gov. Chris Gregoire recently requested that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack designate 29 counties in Washington as farm disaster areas.
“Conditions this year have been difficult for our growers across Washington, from Clark County to Okanogan,” Gregoire stated. “Cold temperatures have harmed our tree fruit crops, while excessive rain made it difficult for bees to pollinate strawberries and other berry crops. A declaration will help our businesses absorb a difficult year and move forward.”
Grant and Adams counties are among the farm disaster areas.
The remaining areas are Benton, Chelan, Clark, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Grays Harbor, Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima counties.
Farmers in those counties can apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance payments or obtain low-interest loans for production and farm property losses.
The results of the second cutting all depend on the weather, said Warden hay grower Clausen.
“As far as tonnage-wise, we’re behind at least two weeks with our growth,” he said.
Clausen said typically he is done with his second cutting.
But this year, he started cutting on Monday.
“This cutting looks better than it is,” Clausen explained.
Many of the stands are uneven, with a difference of a foot in height.
The higher amount of rain delayed the first cutting, causing the hay to sit on the ground for a longer period of time.
“A lot of my neighbors’ coordinates looked the same way,” he noted.
During normal weather, hay growers complete four cuttings.
“A lot of farmers will only get three cuttings because of the late, late spring,” he says. “The best thing we can say is the weather forecast looks good for the next 10 days,” Clausen commented. “It’s very, very difficult to put up hay this season, with the cool weather and the rain,. It’s been near impossible to put up decent quality hay.”
With his farm, they usually average 70 percent for dairy quality.
This year, it appears only 10 percent is considered dairy quality.
The remaining hay is feeder hay or low-end hay.
“If I do everything right for the next three cuttings, I will just lose less,” he commented.
He’s never seen the conditions so bad.
His father says the same and he’s farmed for more than 30 years.
Moses Lake hay grower Bill Roseburg said he is almost a month late with starting his second cutting.
He just finished his first cutting and is irrigating now.
“We just go on with what we’re doing, I guess, and do the best we can with the season we have left,” Roseburg commented.
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