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Summer 2007 Haywire News WHAT A SEASON! Summer is finally arriving, and what a ride it has been getting here! One thing about New Mexico’s weather that is constant—change. From the extreme drought of a year ago, now to record rainfall for April and May in many counties, it is definitely a ride. Trying to get quality New Mexico hay up around a rain cloud since July 1 of last year is weighing on alfalfa farmers. Their blessing in all this is demand—while grass is growing for NM ranches, dairy feed is looking to be very short in supply this year, and that has dairies striving to adjust their rations to whatever is available. Price trends this year are reflecting the shortage, while oddly out of state markets (mostly the small bale market) are strong and constant but not reflecting this year’s increase with the dairy market. South Texas is finally beginning to see some moisture, yet farther east in the deep south is experiencing the most severe drought ever on record. One other constant with agriculture is that when one farmer gains, it is usually at the expense of some other farmer somewhere! NMHA HIRES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The New Mexico Hay Association is proud at announce the hiring of Justin Boswell, of Dexter as part time executive director. Justin, at age 25, has a vast amount of experience in NM alfalfa. From managing the family farm in Dexter to running up and down the Pecos valley weekly as a scouting partner with B&J Scouting, Justin has agreed to sign on to help with us be a more viable organization to help our fellow alfalfa producers and users. Justin carries with him a degree in agronomy from NMSU, which will no doubt be handy experience as we continue our quest of working more closely with our land grand college. After the Southwest Hay Conference in late January, the NMHA board decided to seed the project of hiring for this position, and use it to further investigate forms of funding for our improved sustenance. One of Justin’s first goals is to investigate ways to gain funding through NMDA, NM legislature, and increased support hopefully from NM alfalfa producers. Congratulations, Justin, and we look forward to hearing from you as you progress into this position! ROUNDUP READY ALFALFA NO TIME SOON Roundup Ready alfalfa had just begun to take off when the runway was abruptly closed. A court injunction has halted sales of Roundup ready alfalfa seed pending further USDA testing, a procedure that generally takes a few years to hear back from. Resistance has been received from those who feel the technology breakthrough would contaminate sovereignty of non Roundup seed. The idea of Roundup ready alfalfa had just begun to really set in to NM alfalfa farmers. While the variety of weeds in NM alfalfa come spread out through the season and cause the need for potential constant application of glyphosate - a chemical that does not carry residual for future weed emergence, farmers were liking the idea of having Roundup ready crops next to RR corn and cotton where overspray would not be the issue it is currently. One company is in the final processes of releasing product that will combine Roundup ready technology with the ability to use a preventative herbicide as well. Keep watching for more information on GAT, or Optimum GAT, as the technology is called, that you will soon be seeing in corn and other crops. While there is not yet a halt on usage of already established stands of RR alfalfa, all seed sales has been frozen pending the USDA investigation. RFV vs. RFQ—THE NEW HAY QUALITY DEBATE By Mark Marsalis I have heard several comments from hay growers and dairymen alike that have indicated to me that there is a general lack of understanding of what techniques should be utilized to estimate proper forage quality and subsequent pricing of hays. One of the hot topics in today’s nutrition world is the use of RFQ (Relative Forage Quality) instead of RFV (Relative Feed Value) for estimating nutritive value of a particular forage. RFV is the old standard ranking system that is still being used rather extensively today. However, research has shown that RFQ is a better system of ranking different kinds of forages regardless of whether the forage is a legume or grass. The general difference between the two methods is that RFQ calculations use total digestible nutrients (TDN) in the formula rather than digestible dry matter (DDM) used in the RFV calculations. In the old system, DDM was calculated from acid detergent fiber (ADF), which has not been shown to be highly correlated with digestibility. New NRC Nutrient Requirements for Dairy Cattle recommend the use of digestible fiber for predicting quality, which is reflected in TDN calculations and subsequent RFQ values. RFQ gives a better estimation of digestibility than RFV and ADF/NDF values when used separately. This is particularly true among forages with high degrees of variation of ADF digestibility (e.g., grasses). To avoid confusion, RFQ was developed to have the same scale of values as RFV. The bottom line is that RFQ should give a better prediction of how the animal will perform on a certain feed and is a fairer way of pricing hays. In a scenario where RFV and RFQ values are different for a given forage, RFQ is the preferred measurement. For example, let’s say that a grower has a hay product that has an RFV value of 140, but RFQ is 150. If the hay is sold based on RFV, the buyer gets a good deal because the hay is of better quality than what RFV is indicating. On the other hand, if RFV was 150 and RFQ was 140, the seller comes out better, but the animals will not perform as expected because the hay is lower in quality than what the feeder thought. All in all, RFQ appears to be a better system for pricing hays and for more accurately balancing rations. Several labs offer RFQ values as part of their analyses now and cost difference is minimal, especially when considering the cost savings associated with avoiding an improperly balanced ration and maintaining a good relationship between buyer and seller. For further reading on this subject see: Undersander and Moore. Relative Forage Quality. Focus on Forage. Vol.4: No. 5. Univ. of Wisconsin Extension. Accessed at: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwforage/RFQvsRFV.htm. Mark Marsalis is Extension Agronomist at the New Mexico State University, Agricultural Science Center at Clovis. He can be contacted at (505) 985-2292, marsalis@nmsu.edu. NMHA Scholarships Scholarships are available from the Hay Association for students enrolling in NMSU. If any member knows of a student, please get them to submit an application. Preference is given to families of NMHA members, and secondly to ag-related majors. Contact Ian Ray at 505 646-3819 or emailiaray@nmsu.edu. NMHA NEWS At the Quarterly NMHA board meeting in April, Bryan Johnson of Cottonwood was appointed to replace retiring director Gary Fanning. We want to thank Gary for his contribution to NMHA as a director over the last several years! Bryan is part of the Johnson farming operations north of Artesia, one of the major alfalfa farms in the region. Also a member of AAGA, we look forward to having Bryan on board. It is exciting to see these younger men reaching out to help our organization! In other news, a plaque was recently sent to former directors Harold and Carol Cloer commending them on their contributions to NMHA over the years. Harold has had some health issues and we certainly pray for him and thank he and Carol both for their passions in NMHA! The Cloers reside near Bloomfield, NM. NMHA currently has no representation from districts north of I-40. We miss this representation and encourage anyone up that way to consider and contact us about serving on the NMHA board. We can’t help you if we can’t find you! WWW.NMHAY.COM STRONGER THAN EVER Our NMHA website traffic has increased to an average of 150-250 “real” hits per day. This means people interested in New Mexico hay are looking us up. There are many listings for hay wanted, and only a few hay for sale listings. This is typical of the high demand/low supply conditions we are facing—yet, we get asked from comment cards at our conference that we need to do more for marketing...we understand that some are still not willing to take on the computer world, but they surely have friends or family that could place ads for them. The horse industry is stronger than ever in the US, particularly pleasure horses. The internet opens up endless opportunity to take bring the reputation of New Mexico hay quality to users all over the globe. If you know of someone who woes at marketing their hay, encourage them to try the web as a marketing tool. There are several internet sites available to market hay on besides us. There is a market out there waiting to hear from you! Anyone can place a hay wanted ad, but hay for sale listings require membership status. We have to pay for our site and maintenance somehow! NEED HEALTH INSURANCE? Your Hay Association reminds you that Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other insurance is available at group rates through the Association. Call NMHA Insurance Administrators at 800-286-9690 and ask for Barb or Bob to tell you about association offerings in the ever changing world of health care.
Winter 2007 Haywire News FARMERS DISCUSS FUTURE AT 2007 SOUTHWEST HAY CONFERENCE “Its time we got this project on down the road,” was the remark made by President Doug Whitney during the Annual Business Meeting of the NM Hay Association. The Southwest Hay Conference drew hay growers from all over NM and the southwest to the Ruidoso Convention Center January 18-19th. President Whitney was referring to the association’s effort to establish an Alfalfa Commodity Commission, which would ask NM hay farmers for a voluntary assessment in a range of 50 cents to 2 dollars per acre of hay produced to establish a commission with an executive director to deal with issues of the NM hay farmer today and in the future. “New Mexico hay has an excellent reputation for quality, economical and efficient use of water, as well as being a very environmentally conscious crop” reports President Whitney. “We want to make sure it stays that way.” “The assessment by such a commission would be voluntary, in the fact that a farmer can request and receive a refund for his assessment if he chooses not to participate in the program” according to David Lucero, NMDA Marketing Specialist. Speaking at the conference, Lucero reported that the alfalfa commission referendum sent out in late 2006 failed to produce the requirements for establishment. “The commission has to meet approval in two ways – it must receive a two-thirds approval by respondents, which it did. However, the second requirement is that 30% of the target acreage (those growing 25 acres or more) must be represented, which we only received ballots back representing about 10%”, Lucero explained. “It is hard to get farmers concerned about their future when hay prices are this good”, exclaims Whitney. 9 hearings were held in key alfalfa producing areas of the state during summer months of 2006. Turnout for the hearings was slight, with the exception of a couple areas. “Farmers have enough to tackle without another meeting to go to, and it is in their nature to be reactive rather than proactive” remarks Whitney. “NMHA wants to be able to put issues to rest while they are small ones. This can often happen when representation is there at the start to educate or explain the farmer’s view.” From supporting comments made during the conference, Whitney feels there is enough support for NMHA to request that hay farmers make the donation on their own to the association, and perhaps NMHA should consider using current accumulated funds to seed the project and hire a part time director, and move forward with the follow up request from farmers. During a speech at the 2005 Farm Bureau legislative breakfast in Santa Fe, Governor Richardson pledged funding to support the start of this effort from legislative coffers, though funding was never received, according to NMHA. Formed in the late 1970’s, the New Mexico Hay Association functions completely by concerned volunteers, and only on funding raised from annual dues and proceeds from annual conferences. One producer commended the relationship between crop associations and Farm Bureau, according to NM Farm Bureau CEO John Wortman. At the conference, Wortman reported that while NMFB has staff and a lobbyist to tackle issues, it has to act on behalf of what is according to national FB and NMFB policy. “Most often hay growers’ policy and Farm Bureau’s are the same, but that does not eliminate the need for Santa Fe to hear from crop associations direct”, exclaimed Wortman, during his speech about water issues and other hot topics being addressed at NM legislature. Farmers attending the conference expressed deep concern over the near impossibility for young farmers wishing to get into farming. Other key issues addressed at the conference included concerns of hay growers over positions left open in Extension and Research at NM State University. NMSU Extension and Research personnel were on hand to affirm the need to hear from hay growers in support of filling those positions, including one of weeds specialist, recently vacated by Dr. Mark Renz, and previously filled by Dr. Richard Lee, who was very well known for his research in weed control. Also, hay growers showed significant interest in the inclusion of forages at the conference. Increased dairy activity on the east side of the state, combined with the popularity of ethanol fuels is making forages more popular than ever. “Currently there is no organization officially dealing with forages in New Mexico, and maybe it’s time we reconsider addressing that need” exclaimed President Whitney. Conference attendees and exhibitors were hurriedly waiting the conclusion of talks Friday morning in order to get home before snowstorms hit later that day, dumping an average 5 inches of snow over most of the lower side of the state. Though weather presents a risk this time of year, attendees seem to like Ruidoso as the center meeting place for agriculture in the state, according to comments made. Attendance was off due to weather reports, but still about 200 farmers, exhibitors, and industry professionals attended the conference, and enjoyed an evening performance by famed cowboy humorist and poet Waddie Mitchell. Got hay? Our website, NMHAY.COM, has many listings for hay needed, and only a few sellers. Of course you have to be a NMHA member to list an ad for sale, but there are over 100 hits per day on this site, and you are missing out on a whole new market from your home office by not putting your ad up and help these needing buyers! Noxious Weed Free Hay Program The creation of a program to contain noxious weeds on public land in New Mexico is in final development stages. The US Forest Service is working to get their own agencies started using Certified Noxious Weed Free Hay for their own pack horses before enforcement to the general public. Certification of alfalfa is being implemented through the NM Crop Improvement Association (505 646-1425). NMHA encourages farmers to consider joining this program to find a niche market for their hay.
Summer 2006 Haywire News By Doug Whitney, President
SEASON SHOWS RECORD POTENTIAL FOR ALFALFA GROWERS AS CRISIS THREATENS Summer has arrived, only to find record high temperatures had already set in causing further stress on the alfalfa situation in New Mexico. A unique combination of disastrous situations have caused an increase in alfalfa prices and threat of shorter supplies than have ever been compiled in a given year, according to some long-time NM farmers. The severe drought situation has carried over from 2005, which saw all old inventories of hay exhausted, no matter the quality. Then lack of sufficient winter moisture had already set the precedent for 2006, with no winter wheat hay crops nor pasture availability in Texas and other areas. Then, to add insult to injury, large areas in Colorado experienced two warm periods followed by hard freezes last winter and spring that wiped out fields of alfalfa that had prematurely come out of dormancy. And more bad news from Colorado—it was reported that some 400 odd wells were to be shut down to assist with low water levels near some municipalities. We are hearing that some oat crops are being grown in place of lost hay stands, but that new hay stands won’t be in top production until mid ‘07, and that is if everything goes right. Taking it further, in areas where water allotments are metered, such as the upper Pecos valley, it also happens to be the “fifth-year of five” , or the five year term in which farmers must even up their water usage average for the term or face fines and in-kind penalties for any over usages from the last four years. Also, low water levels in New Mexico’s dams are causing shortages in the usual allotments to downstream farmers. Now, in late June, we may be seeing an early arrival of the monsoon season, with some areas receiving a bit of rain, but too early to tell. But with early cuttings suffering from no moisture, whether it be rain or even humidity at night, followed by record “blast furnace” days where water usage is documented at .5 to .8 inches per day, yields thus far have suffered those consequences. This massive combination of tough luck leads to one point: Even if every one of these factors were to conjunctively turn around, will it be soon enough to avoid a potential disaster for hay availability post season? Though none of us have a crystal ball, the obvious picture is that this winter could find a huge crisis in hay supplies. Simply said, the NM Hay Association cautiously advises anyone using hay to find it now and not count on post season supplies being on hand this winter! What ever happened to that Alfalfa Commodity Commission Idea?? Answer: It is in the works! Nearly a dozen hearings were held this spring in most hay-inhabited areas of the state that we could think of, to offer information explaining why we should consider a commission. David Lucero, under the direction of Ed Avalos (both from NMDA) narrated the meetings, with directors of NMHA board standing in when at all possible, and with the help of Bill Gomez volunteering help to explain at most meetings. It was unfortunate that most meetings experienced light attendance, as is somewhat evident in the representation of membership with NMHA. In most areas, opinions were positive in nature enough to lead NMDA into the next phase of sending out a referendum to vote on the idea of a VOLUNTARY assessment of alfalfa acreage. It was interesting that most younger NM hay farmers were very supportive of the idea, while older farmers seem to offer a mixture of opinions about a commission. We feel unfortunate that the NMHA board could not be available at all meetings to offer a more in depth explanation from a farmer’s standpoint as to why we are urging a commission. Personally, I wish I had infinite time to be able to knock on every hay farmers door and break it down for them, but when they won’t come to the hearings, what else can this volunteer organization do? The referendum will likely be sent out in the next 60 days, and I will address a cover letter to go along with it. I will invite anyone who opposes the measure to call me personally and discuss it. It seems that most simply do not understand this measure, and I feel I can be of assistance in explaining it’s importance. The alfalfa industry in New Mexico is bound to face many new and unprecedented challenges in the near future, and I truly feel we will not be able to properly address the issues from a strictly volunteer standpoint. New Mexico Ag Statistics service will do the mailing of the referendum. It is important to understand that in no way are we asking NMAS to compromise their integrity—it is simply the necessary method to send out to a mailing list of known alfalfa producers in NM. They will not hold anyone accountable for any reported acreages, nor be in any way tied to assessments made—all info will be asked of on a voluntary basis. The underlying fact is that commodity commissions work, as is evidenced by the ones currently in place in NM—good things happen from all of them, and we plan to achieve no less! The New Mexico Hay Association currently operates on 100% donated time by our directors and volunteer staff. We very confidently feel we can be of much better service to New Mexico alfalfa industry if we can hire some actual paid staff. New Mexico has an excellent reputation for it’s hay quality now, and we would like to see our marketing carried on to higher steps, as well as defend the NM hay industry in legislative and regulatory matters. This requires a great deal of time, more than volunteers can provide! We need your help in supporting the idea of a commodity commission. Again, you are very welcome to contact Doug Whitney at (505) 622-8080 or email dug@plateautel.net with your ideas and suggestions. NMHA Scholarships Scholarships are available from the Hay Association for students enrolling in NMSU. If any member knows of a student, please get them to submit an application. Preference is given to families of NMHA members, and secondly to ag-related majors. Contact Ian Ray at 505 646-3819 or emailiaray@nmsu.edu.
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