Mark Kennedy from Houston, Missouri, doesn’t produce any hay. He grazes cattle, sheep and goats on his rocky, hilly ground, and buys whatever hay he needs. He grazes about 320 to 340 days per year, and tries to have 60 days worth of hay on hand in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. In good years, he may not have to feed any hay, but on dry years, he may have to feed hay 65 days or so.

With China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) more active buyers, February U.S. alfalfa hay exports were the highest since November 2015, according to latest estimates from USDA’s Foreign Ag Service.

Hay and straw producers can add value to their products by achieving weed-free forage certification through the South Dakota Department of Agriculture (SDDA).

Gary Wilson from Jenera, Ohio, has been active in the forage industry as a producer, extension agent and educator, and has sat on many forage-related organizational boards. His forage involvement has spanned a lifetime.

U.S. hay producers intend to harvest 54.3 million acres of all hay in 2016, according to the USDA’s annual Prospective Plantings report released March 31.

In 2012, the average age of a farmer was 58.3 years old, continuing a 30-year trend of an increasingly older demographic in agriculture. Recognizing the need to support young farmers, the latest Thank You Farmers initiative from Culver’s encourages franchisees and the Culver’s Support Center in Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin, to sponsor the cost of purchasing FFA jackets for members who otherwise wouldn’t be able to own this special attire.

Let me throw out some random numbers. The number 33. It represents the percentage increase of smartphone users since 2011. The number 68. It represents the percentage of adults in the U.S. who have a smartphone.