Feeding hay is often just part of the cattle business, and it's almost an afterthought to some. Habit and routine can sometimes overshadow a piece of your cattle business that deserves further evaluation.

Whether up north in last summer’s ash or down south in the dust, winter feeding is nearing its end, and the need for a grazing plan is mounting. Year over year, producer efforts to balance grazing and growth will hopefully result in profitable calf crops as well as healthy grasslands.

Cattle producers in many areas of the country face a critical decision: whether to produce their own hay or to buy hay from external sources. Both approaches have distinct advantages, challenges and economic implications.

Hay test results provide critical insight into forage quality, but numbers alone don’t capture the full picture.

Now that the terminal has been in operation for about four years, this article aims to describe why such an infrastructural investment can help increase international trade opportunities and to analyze whether the expected impact of increased hay exports from Idaho are observable in publicly available data.

Progressive Forage provides on update on drought conditions, prices, exports and more.DC

Here’s Progressive Forage’s look at factors impacting hay producers and markets as a new year begins.