Western Hay

High quality western alfalfa is quite possibly the most nutritious animal feed produced anywhere in the world. According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, over 42% of the alfalfa produced in the U.S. in 2007 and 2008 came from the 11 western states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Highly fertile soil, abundant irrigation, minimal humidity, and low annual rainfall create the perfect climate to produce high quality hay. Arid western climates aid in the high speed curing of forages that will be baled. Hay can be cured in as little as 3 days allowing producers to make beautiful green bales that have excellent feed value. Sun, excessive dew moisture, and rain can strip forages of their nutrients and bleach color away in a matter of days. The largest volumes of the highest quality forages are grown in the west consistently year after year.

Commercial Production

The field machine of choice for a large percentage of commercial hay producers is the large square baler. Three string bales are still very dominant in the extreme western states and two string bales are common in the rocky mountain west, but slowly, large square balers are harvesting a bigger portion of the overall crop. The window of opportunity for baling high quality hay is very short. When the moisture content is optimal for baling, there is no time to fight labor and equipment. Big balers can harvest unmatched volumes of hay. The bales can be removed from the fields very quickly and efficiently allowing the producer to start irrigating immediately. The bales can be stacked and tarped or transported easily to storage locations on trucks. This results in higher quality, consistent forages in a short amount of time. Large volume, small bale operations require several pieces of equipment and people to match the production of a single large square baler. Small balers are used every day to bale high quality hay, but the handling and protection of the small bales is very challenging. Commercial growers need high capacity machinery to harvest the highest quality hay in the shortest amount of time. The large square baler will continually be used to harvest the largest portion of the total western hay crop.

When feeding alfalfa, horse owners should be aware of the possibility of blister beetle contamination. You may have heard that it is safe to feed alfalfa from certain areas of the country that do not have blister beetles. There are over 350 species of blister beetles found throughout the U.S., so all alfalfa is suspect of blister beetle contamination. The largest concentration of the most toxic blister beetles tends to be in the south and southwestern states. Alfalfa should be purchased from areas that have a reduced risk of blister beetle contamination. Always buy your hay from a reliable source that is aware of beetle issues and inspect your hay for beetles when feeding. In northeastern Colorado, we are constantly on the lookout, but have never found blister beetles in our alfalfa. There are numerous references available online that address the different types of beetles and the toxicity of each.