Hay Storage down Significantly

All hay stored on Minnesota farms as of December 1, 2021, was estimated at 1.46 million tons, down 35 percent from December 1, 2020, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Crop Production report. 

Disappearance from May 1, 2021, through December 1, 2021, totaled 1.27 million tons, compared with 1.67 million tons for the same period in 2020. 

All hay stored on United States farms as of December 1, 2021 totaled 79.0 million tons, down 6 percent from December 1, 2020, which is the third lowest December 1 stocks since 1977.

Disappearance from May 1, 2021, through December 1, 2021, totaled 59.2 million tons, down 6 percent from the same period in 2020. All hay production for the state was estimated at 2.33 million tons, down 34 percent from the 3.55 million tons produced in 2020. 

Producers averaged 2.14 tons per acre, down 0.74 ton per acre from 2020.

All hay harvested acres were estimated at 1.09 million acres, down 140,000 acres from 2020. 

Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures for hay production was estimated at 1.74 million tons, down 35 percent from 2020. 

Producers averaged 2.60 tons per acre, down 1.00 ton per acre from 2020. Harvested acres were down 70,000 from last year, to 670,000 acres. 

Minnesota producers seeded 100,000 acres of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures in 2021, down 41 percent from 2020. 

Other hay production was estimated at 588,000 tons, down 33 percent from 2020. 

Producers averaged 1.40 tons per acre, down 0.40 ton from the 2020 yield.

Record low December 1 hay stock levels were estimated in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oregon.