John Szczepanski, director of the U.S. Forage Export Council, told the National Hay Association members at their annual convention, “The new normal is bad. I wish I could paint a rosier picture.”

As college sustainability and agricultural programs continue to grow, it only makes sense that universities around the country would cultivate those efforts by maintaining their own farms.

The USDA reported sales from U.S. organic farms up 72 percent. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) survey, however, organic acres are shrinking.

Non-farming landlords, according to a recently released 2014 survey, own 80 percent of U.S. rented farmland. The report states, “In 2014, all of the landlords combined received $31.2 billion in rental income while incurring $9.2 billion in total expenses.”

Hay and baleage producers in the Southeast could earn major prizes in this year’s Southeastern Hay Contest at the Sunbelt Ag Expo.