Eddie: Weather Made 2019 A Challenging Year For Hay Growers

For many Northwest producers, 2019 was a challenging year, because of trade uncertainty and the ongoing trade war with China.  But, for many hay growers, it was Mother Nature that made this year a difficult one.  Andrew Eddie, Vice President of the Washington state Hay Growers Association, says this was the most unpredictable year, weather wise, that’s he’s seen over the past five years.

"We got quite a bit of rain throughout the season.  We probably got a sizable amount of rain every 28 days, or so, on average, so it kind of threw a monkey wrench into cutting schedules.”

That weather, Eddie says, pushed back the 4^th cutting for many across the Columbia Basin.  As far as the quality of this year’s crop, Eddie says it was a mixed bag.  He said the color quality less than ideal, but the feed quality was good.

Eddie noted movement this season was good for Alfalfa, and the 1^st cut of Timothy.  However, as the season continued demand specifically for Timothy slowed.

“Prices for Timothy kind of went down by the time we hit second cutting, so there’s quite a bit of Timothy sitting around.  As for Alfalfa, there’s some stuff sitting, most of it’s spoken for I think.  And there’s a wide range of qualities, from premium to feeder, and a whole bunch of that stuff.  So it just kind of varies.”

While much of the focus locally was on the weather, Eddie noted trade uncertainty continues to weigh on the minds of local hay producers.

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