The impact of tight hay supplies on winter feeding costs

As we prepare to turn the page on January, most cow-calf operations are well into their winter feeding programs. High fertilizer prices in the spring of 2022 likely resulted in less fertilizer being applied to hay ground. This was combined with a lack of rainfall in much of the US to result in a sizeable decrease in hay production for the year. Drought conditions also forced many cattle operations to begin feeding hay earlier than usual. All these factors together resulted in a 9% decrease in December 1 hay stocks for the year at the national level. James talked through much of these hay…