2032 Hay Season Review: Challenging Weather Damages Crop, But High-Quality Hay Still In Demand

In the latest episode of Fridays in the Field, Clay Patton returns to southwest Nebraska to check in with Steve Rice of SR Farms Alfalfa Company in Wilsonville. Rice discussed the 2023 hay season and shared an update on the third and fourth cuttings of alfalfa. He is hoping to get a fourth cutting in most fields within the next 3 weeks before the frost. He also discusses the hay market, which continues to be strong with high demand for dairy-quality hay. “We’re getting some phone calls from Wisconsin, again,” Rice said. “We even got a call from a deer farmer that is looking for that top-end stuff.” Over the winter, they will focus on equipment maintenance, fertilizer planning, and weed control for next year. Steve also discussed promoting Nebraska alfalfa at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin the following week with the Nebraska Alfalfa Marketing Association.