Slight Increase To Missouri Hay Acres

An additional 50,000 acres of hay are on tap for mowing across Missouri this year, according to the most recent USDA Acreage report.  The report indicates that 3.12 million acres will be harvested this year, which is lower than USDA’s projection of 3.2 million earlier this year.  Alfalfa acres are in line with last year’s figure at 220,000 acres.  Nationally, hay acreage is set to decrease 1.3 percent to 51.5 million acres, including 16.1 million acres of alfalfa.

Missouri’s rice farmers increased their acreage four percent this year, with 238,000 acres planted.  Projected harvest this fall is 233,000 acres.  Rice acreage nationwide has slid 12 percent to 2.66 million acres, with all but about 45,000 acres set for harvest this fall.  While Missouri remains fourth in rice acreage, the three states with more acreage have all seen a decrease.

Also in the Bootheel, cotton producers have planted their crop in 390,000 acres, a 32-percent increase from a year ago.  That’s the largest increase percentage-wise among major cotton producing states, as nationwide acreage ended up down three percent at 11.58 million acres.