January 2000 Idaho Agricultural Outlook

Since the release of the 1999-2000 Hay and Forage Situation and Outlook article in October, no additional information has been released by USDAINASS that would change those projections. The next USDA release of the Crop Production report will be January 11,2000. This report will contain data on Hay Stocks on Farms for Idaho and other states, as of December 1, 1999. It presents the 'winter picture' of how hay is moving through marketing channels. If the report shows that Idaho hay stocks are large (long term average is about 2.9 million tons), this indicates hay has not been moving and there may be pressure on prices. If hay stocks are lower than expected, there may be higher hay prices on the horizon. Severity of winter weather, development of new markets and a number of other factors will all impact the hay situation through 2000. But the December 1 hay stocks will give us an indication of supply and demand in mid-winter