Rusty Hall has already made a first cutting on 80 acres of leased land in McElmo Canyon, setting up what he expects will be a banner year for hay production in Montezuma County.
“Last year was terrible because of the water,” he said. “This year, we’re getting our first cutting in, and some people haven’t had to irrigate at all. Some have irrigated once,” he said.
Hall said he’s using his first cut of alfalfa-grass mix hay and alfalfa hay to set up a cutting schedule for the second and third cuts of the season. Currently, he said, his grass is going to seed while only about 20% of his alfalfa is blooming.
Cutting a little early before an ideal first cut, he said, will cut down on the first cut’s yield but will set up an ideal schedule for second and third cuts, so his grass and alfalfa will be synchronized for prime yields.
In addition, he said and early cut will make for a cleaner cut with fewer weeds.
Hall is selling his small bales – about 60 pounds each – for $9 for a buyer’s pick from his stack, $8 for a buyer’s pick from the field and $12 delivered in Montezuma County with a minimum delivery of 10 bales.
Danny Decker, owner of Decker Hay Farm near Cortez, has completed his first cut on about 300 acres. He said he expects hay will sell for $220 to $350 per ton, depending on its quality, in Southwest Colorado.
He cautions that a number of factors go into hay prices, including the quantity of hay available from farmers across the nation and the amount of hay exported to Asia. Still, he expects high-quality hay will maintain its price from 2018 despite the greater yield expected this year.
Decker said even high corn and soybean prices will act to drive up the national price of hay.
He also cautioned that excessively wet weather can also hurt prices.
“You need dry weather when making hay,” Decker said. “If it rains a lot, we’ll have a lot of rained-upon, cheap hay available.”
Decker expects to be finished with his second cutting by the end of June, and he plans to begin his third cutting two weeks after finishing his second cut.
Despite last year’s drought, Decker said he got three cuttings in 2018, and he expects up to four cuttings on some of his acreage, which he said is spread throughout Montezuma County.
This year, with its plentiful precipitation, Decker said, should mean yields will double from 2018, but he noted 2018 yields were only about half of average because of the drought.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
Bumper crop of noxious weeds expected
Ideal conditions for a bumper hay crop also benefit the invasive weeds that choke out native plants, damage natural ecological systems and may be poisonous to humans and livestock.
“All the weeds are going nuts. It’s going to be a huge weed year, and you need to control them before they go to seed,” said Bonnie Loving, head of the Montezuma County noxious weed department.
Hoary Cress, a white-flowering perennial forb in the mustard family, is especially problematic this year, Loving said.
“I just harvested a 34-inch (hoary cress) plant. That’s the tallest I’ve ever seen them,” she said.
The trouble with hoary cress, Loving said, is that it dominates an area, creating a monoculture that pushes all other species out. Once it’s established, she said it can expand by 15 feet in one growing season.
“We knew it was going to be a problem, but we didn’t think it would be this bad,” Loving said.
So far this year, Loving said 41 enforcement letters have gone out to private landowners who have previously been identified with having a problem with various noxious weeds and have been asked to develop a noxious weed management plan but have failed to do so.
Loving encourages livestock owners to purchase local hay because imported hay can introduce non-native, noxious weeds.
Loving said the Montezuma County Weed Program will conduct property visits for free to inform landowners of issues with noxious plants, whether they are native or non-native.
The department also has a backpack sprayer program that any county landowner can use twice for free. Training is provided on the use of the backpack and proper and safe application of herbicides.
In addition, the Montezuma County Weed Program has $40,000 dedicated to a cost-share program that will be used to cover a percentage of a landowner’s cost for herbicide to eradicate noxious weeds.
Montezuma County Weed Program is at 103 N. Chestnut St. in Cortez. It can be contacted by phone at 565-0580.
Other plants Loving identified as troublesome this season include:
Black Henbane, introduced from Europe as an ornamental, it blooms June through September. A mature plant reaches 1 to 3 feet with foliage that has a foul odor. Its leaves are shallowly lobed to coarsely toothed sticky hairs. The outer flower is brownish yellow with a purple center and veins. All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and livestock when ingested.
Jointed goatgrass, a mostly erect cool-season grass that closely resembles winter wheat and can be problematic if it infests winter wheat fields because combines can’t separate the grass seeds from wheat seeds.
Leafy spurge, a non-native perennial that spreads by seed and creeping roots that can extend 30 feet into soil. The plant can grow from 1 to 3 feet and has stems that are pale green and thickly clustered. Its flowers are small and yellowish-green and enclosed by yellowish-green bracts. The entire plant contains a milky white sap that exudes readily when a stem or leaf is broken and can damage eyes or skin. It is aggressive when established and crowds out other plants.
Russian knapweed, a perennial thistle with white hairs on its stems and leaves and purple- to rose-colored flower that is an aggressive invader of pastures and cultivated fields.
parmijo@the-journal.com
