08/13/08 Washington alfalfa crop forecast to be smallest in 35 years

Washington Ag August 13, 2008 Washington's hay crop this year won't do much to alleviate high prices for livestock producers. Dennis Koong, Deputy Director of the Washington field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service has the numbers and historical context from the August crop report. Koong: "This is the lowest acreage of alfalfa harvested since 1953. The yields are also low in comparison to historical yields. That is resulting in a production forecast of 1.75 million tons, which is 26% below last year. It is actually the lowest level since 1973." Koong says other hay production in Washington is forecast to be down 18 percent this year from 2007 Hay production is forecast to be up in neighboring states. Oregon is forecasting an alfalfa crop 20 percent larger than in 2007 with other hay production up 12 percent from last year. Alfalfa production in Idaho this year is expected to rise one percent with other hay production increasing 20 percent over 2007. I'm Bob Hoff.