Asian crunch hurting Nevada alfalfa growers

"They take the bulk of our second crop," Harry Rice, sales manager for Nevada Haygrowers Inc. in Yerington said.

He said the overseas business is very important for the 60 or so alfalfa growers he works for from Fallon and Yerington as well as the Smith and Mason valleys.

Rice said his cooperative shipped about 10,000 tons of northern Nevada alfalfa to Asian markets last September. With the plunge in the value of the Japanese yen and its domino effect on the Pacific Rim economies as well, the figure so far this month is more like 4,000 tons.

"It's definitely going to affect our economy. It's a 25 percent reduction in hay prices," Rice told the Lahontan Valley News.

Nevada's total hay crop, including its protein-rich alfalfa, was worth $114.5 million to growers last year.

Fallon hay broker Mark Moyle, with Nevada Hay Connection, said premium quality dairy hay is going for $125 to $130 a ton, compared to $150 a ton a year ago.

And while Nevada alfalfa is prized by ranchers for its high food value, Rice said they're turning to cheaper commodities like corn, grain and flax to feed their beef cattle and milk cows.

"If they can buy protein in another form cheaper per unit, that's what they are going to do," he said.

Rice added that while Northern California ranchers are providing a demand for dairy quality hay, there is a surplus of regular good hay in Nevada and California and it's not bringing a good price.

He said a recent sale sent hay to California for $100 a ton delivered. With shipping factored in, that "makes it $65 hay here," he said.

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