Herald and News: Remaining hay going for record prices

Remaining hay going for record prices

California shortages a boon for Klamath growers who didn’t sell all of their hay $110 a ton hay

By TY BEAVER

H&N Staff Writer

January 25, 2007

Hay growers in the Klamath Basin with leftover supplies are seeing the advantages of not selling before the cold set in.

Cold snaps and water shortages in California resulted in many Oregon hay growers selling their crop to buyers south of the border.

The result is that any hay left over is demanding premium prices from those in other parts of Oregon.

Not much available hay

“There’s not much available to begin with,” said David King, president of Klamath County Hay Growers Association.

Hay buyers used to purchasing hay from Klamath County and northern California are seeing prices $30 higher or more compared to recent years, according to the Associated Press. One Ashland grower said he heard of hay selling for as much as $225 a ton in Klamath County.

King said that few growers have hay left to sell because much of what was cut is already committed. The left-over stocks are those that growers didn’t sell because prices were too low.

For example, King said he didn’t sell some of his lower quality hay that would have gone for $90 a ton in September. Now it’s worth about $110 a ton.

Grower Jason Flowers said his family’s operation also has benefited from the shortage. Until Jan. 20, Flowers said he still had his first and third cuttings of alfalfa. An Idaho buyer bought it all and said he’s already resold it without having picked up a bale yet.

“It’s the best we’ve ever gotten for alfalfa,” Flowers said.