Hi everybody it’s time for your Lane and Livestock Report here on the Ag Information Network of the West-I’m Russell Nemetz.

Two years ago the U.S. had its lowest hay harvest in more than a century. This year is slated to be second lowest hay acreage harvest since 1906.

In the latest Prospective Plantings report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an estimated 53,726,000 acres of hay are projected to be harvested in 2018. This is a decrease of 58,000 acres from 2017, or a 0.1% drop in acreage.

The 2018 acreage projection is 245,000 acres more than the total acreage harvested in 2016, an increase of 0.4%. The 2016 hay harvest was the lowest hay harvest since 1906, according to USDA data.

States to see the largest increase in percentage of acreage harvested include:

New Hampshire 17.0%

Ohio 13.2%

Minnesota 8.7%

Nevada 8.3%

Montana 8%

USDA indicates that hay growers in “Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota are optimistic about harvesting more acres than last year to replenish reduced stocks resulting from a dry 2017 production cycle.”

Meanwhile, the states with largest decreases in acreage by percentage include:

Pennsylvania -11.6%

Indiana -8.6%

Oregon -8.2%

South Carolina -7.7%

Florida -6.7%

USDA expects all time harvest acreage lows in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well.

That’s your Land and Livestock Report-I’m Russell Nemetz.