Farms.com Home   News

Cow-Calf Corner: Questions To Ask BEFORE Buying Hay

By Mark Z. Johnson

Winter is coming and hay inventories are low.  Given the current situation it can come as a relief to just find hay to purchase.  In 2022 many of us in Oklahoma find ourselves making hay purchases from out of state that are not the typical harvested forages we use in Oklahoma.  Regardless of the hay source you are considering, ask the following questions and consider the following before making purchases:

  1. Ask for a FEED ANALYSIS REPORT of the hay before you agree to buy and consider the moisture, protein, energy and relative feed value of what you are purchasing.  Also consider the nitrate levels if you are purchasing sorghum hay.
  2. Purchase by the ton, not by the bale.  In a drought year like 2022, there will be hay on the market from roadsides and abandoned fields.  Some bales of low density depending on baler settings.  In order to get what you are paying for base purchases on tonnage.  All hay bales are not of equal weight or quality.
  3. Ask how the hay has been stored.  In a barn = less spoilage, stacked in rows on pallets is better than stacked on the ground.
  4. Ask what type of wrap is on bales.  Net wrap results in less spoilage than twine wrap.
Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies