So far, 2017 producing good prices for timothy hay

MOSES LAKE — Farming anything is something of a gamble – sometimes it’s a good year, sometimes it’s just so-so, sometimes it’s an awesome year, sometimes it’s awful. For timothy hay growers 2017 is starting out as one of those awesome years. For alfalfa growers, so far 2017 is kind of so-so.

Currently timothy hay is selling for $250 to $350 per ton, said Mark Anderson, chief executive officer of Anderson Hay, Ellensburg. “The timothy price is substantially higher this year,” Anderson said. “Record prices right now.”

In fact prices are so good the crop might be pricing itself out of the market. “Almost too high,” Anderson said.

Weather conditions broke right for timothy hay growers, who typically cut one or two crops per year, three at most. “Excellent weather window.” Harvest benefited from clear sunny skies and warm days that helped speed up the drying process. “A lot of nice quality” in the 2017 crop, he said.

“Last year the market was pretty soft.” A contract dispute between West Coast port workers and port administrators in late 2014 and early 2015 led to a slowdown that had an effect on commodity markets long after it ended. The timothy hay market was among those affected, with carryover of some inventory from year to year. But timothy hay inventories dropped over the winter, Anderson said.

It’s too early to tell if there will be inventories carrying over to 2018, he said.

Alfalfa harvest has not gone quite so smoothly. “The weather wasn’t quite ideal” for the first cutting, Anderson said. In addition, “the alfalfa market still needs to see improvement.”

Currently alfalfa is selling for $110 to $170 per ton.

It rained while alfalfa growers were cutting the first crop, he said. Alfalfa growers usually harvest three or four cuttings.

Customers for the first cutting include domestic and foreign dairy producers, and prices for milk have been lower, he said. There was some inventory remaining from 2016, but “a lot less carryover this year than the last couple (of years).”

The first alfalfa cutting is not always the highest-priced, he said, but it sets the stage for later cuttings. The second and third cuttings generally go to the export market, and the fourth cutting, when there is one, generally is sold domestically.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.