Nevada Hay Prices        Hay prices for May were up for All Hay, and Alfalfa Mixtures, and unchanged for all Other Hay. The All Hay price averaged $105.00 per ton, Alfalfa and Alfalfa Mixtures averaged $102.00 per ton, and all Other Hay prices averaged $130.00 per ton. April prices were $105.00 for All Hay, $100.00 for Alfalfa, and $130.00 for All Other Hay.     National Hay Prices        National level prices were up across the board. All Hay came in at $107.00 per ton, $10.10 per ton above the April average. Alfalfa, at $116.00 per ton, was up $13.00 from last month. All Other Hay averaged $76.10 per ton, up $0.70 from April.

 

Winter Wheat Production Up 6 Percent from 2004

       United States: Winter wheat production is forecast at 1.59 billion bushels, up 6 percent from 2004. Based on May 1 conditions, the U.S. yield is forecast at 45.4 bushels per acre, 1.9 bushels more than last year. Grain area totals 35.1 million acres, up 2 percent from last season.

       Hard Red production is up 18 percent from a year ago to 1.01 billion bushels. Soft Red is down 21 percent and totals 302 million bushels. White production totals 283 million bushels, up 7 percent from a year ago.

 

Nevada Hay Stocks

       Stocks of hay on Nevada farms were estimated at 80,000 tons as of May 1, 2005, down from 121,000 last year and from the 167,000 tons in 2002.

National Hay Stocks

 

       Nationally, stocks of all hay on farms totaled 27.7 million tons on May 1, 2005, 6.4 percent above May 1 of the previous year, and 20.6 percent above May 1, 2003. Stocks in the seven western states (AZ, CA, ID, NV, OR, UT, and WA) totaled 1,849,000 tons on May 1, 2005, 9.7 percent below last year on May 1.

Hired Workers Down 10 Percent, Wage Rates Up 1 Percent from a Year Ago

       There were 978,000 hired workers on the Nation’s farms and ranches during the week of April 10-16, 2005, down 10 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 746,000 workers were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 232,000 workers.

       Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $9.34 per hour during the April 2005 reference week, up 11 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.55 per hour, up 8 cents from last April, while livestock workers earned $9.23 per hour compared with $8.95 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $8.73 per hour, was up 14 cents from last year.

       The number of hours worked averaged 39.8 hours for hired workers during the survey week, down 2 percent from a year ago.

       The Mountain II Region (comprised of Nevada, Utah, and Colorado), experienced a decrease in the number of hired farm workers in April, decreasing from 26,000 in April 2004 to 20,000 in April 2005. Farm workers in the region worked an average of 41.6 hours during the survey week, up from 40.8 hours in April 2004. Hired workers were paid an average of $8.50 per hour, compared to $9.84 per hour in April 2004.

 

May Crop & Weather Summary

 

 

       Stormy weather was common early in the month and precipitation was widespread. Mountain snow pack continued to swell statewide with most watersheds holding well above normal snow. Much of northern Nevada received well above normal precipitation. Temperatures rose later in the month initiating snow melt. The Humboldt River was running out of it’s banks and several smaller streams reached or exceeded flood stage. Many pastures and some farm fields were flooded. Range and pasture condition thrived with the available moisture and warming temperatures. Branding was completed and cattle were moved to summer ranges. Rains interrupted potato planting early in the month, but planting was completed by the end. Corn planting was undertaken when the soils warmed later in the month. Fall seeded grains were beginning to head out late in the month and alfalfa cutting was advancing northward. Mormon crickets were active throughout the month and abatement efforts were underway. Main farm and ranch activities: spring planting, hay harvest, weed control, water management.

 

 

Monthly Weather Summary for Selected Nevada Stations, May 2005

 

                                                                                      

 

Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves

 

       Non-ambulatory cattle and calves in the United States totaled 465,000 head during 2003 and 450,000 head during 2004. The number of non-ambulatory cattle 500 pounds or greater totaled 280,000 head in 2003 and 270,000 head in 2004. The number of calves less than 500 pounds that were reported as non-ambulatory totaled 185,000 head in 2003 and 180,000 head in 2004.

 

       The number of operations that reported non-ambulatory cattle and calves was 103,000 in 2003 and 81,000 in 2004. In 2003, there were 66,800 beef cow operations reporting non-ambulatory cattle and calves compared to 49,700 in 2004. There were 22,800 dairy operations reporting non-ambulatory cattle and calves in 2003 compared to 23,000 in 2004.

 

Pasture & Range