Warmer weather would be more than welcome at Bootes Farm near Middlesex, NY. “The hay crops are looking pretty good right now,” says hay grower Brian Bootes. “We have plenty of soil moisture. Last week, we had 5-7” of rain in two days.
“Now, if we can just get a little heat, we should be able to get going on our first cutting of orchardgrass in early June.”
Bootes puts up timothy-alfalfa and orchardgrass-alfalfa hay on 250 acres. In a typical year, he makes 20,000-25,000 small-square bales each weighing 60-65 lbs. Most are marketed through a broker serving Northeastern horse owners, but Bootes also sells directly.
It’s still too early to get a feel for where prices might be headed in coming months, he says. This spring, second-crop grass hay in his area sold for $225-250/ton at the farm. First-crop hay went for $170-200/ton.
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