Although mid-valley hay prices probably won’t top the $200 per ton that’s being paid in Central Oregon, good-quality hay is already selling for $160 to $170 per ton and the market is hot.

“I’m selling 60-pound bales for $5 per bale or $160 per ton,” said Bud Luton, owner of Two Cylinder Acres near Crawfordsville.

Luton and his wife, Helene, put up nearly 30,000 bales per year on 500 acres. Some of it is for their own sales business and much of it is custom work for livestock producers.

“We put up about 3,500 bales in May, which is a little unusual, but the weather was dry,” Luton said. “It’s selling well because it’s good hay, a mixture of orchard grass, alfalfa and timothy. I’ve had calls from Blodgett, Cottage Grove and even Washington state. Our phone is ringing constantly.”

It wasn’t too many years ago that mid-valley hay was selling out of the field for $50 to $70 per ton. Not so today, although there are reports of some mid-valley hay sales in the $80 per ton range. That would depend on quality. Some hay that had been cut was rained on early in the season.

Numerous factors are driving up hay prices, Luton said.

Costs are up considerably, including diesel fuel at about $2.80 per gallon and twine — made from petroleum products — at $30 per box. “It’s up about $3 a box in two years,” Luton said.

Also, hay producers and landowners paid more for fertilizer this spring than a year ago.

Dirk Zimick, owner of Foothills Farm and Ranch Supply in Lebanon, said hay-making season is definitely in full swing, judging by the amount of twine and hay salt being purchased.

“Twine took a big jump last year, but it’s only up about $1 a box this year,” Zimick said. “Over two years, it’s up about $4 a box. The biggest cost increase for farmers was fertilizer. It’s easily up $50 to $60 per ton and in some cases well over $100 per ton.”

Zimick attributed some of the fertilizer price jump to the explosion in the ethanol market in the midwest. A record number of acres is being planted to corn, which requires more nitrogen than soybeans, to feed an increasing number of ethanol plants. Total corn acreage will top 90 million acres this spring, up more than 12 million acres from 2006.

“We were paying $385 to $390 a ton for 40-06-00 fertilizer in January,” Zimick said. “The new price is $500 per ton wholesale. If the Midwest corn planting trend holds next year, we could see another $80 to $100 per ton on top of that.”

Zimick said his primary hay supplier was making a trip through the eastern part of the state to see first-hand what’s happening in the quality hay market.

The value of hay and forage products in Linn County in 2006 was $19.5 million, compared to $16.5 million in 2005.

The price of hay may cause a sell-off of mid-valley livestock once lush pastures turn brown during the coming hot months, according to Kate Anderson, co-owner of the Eugene Livestock Auction, south of Junction City.

“Right now, the grass is still green and the cows and calves are looking good,” said Anderson, who owns the auction yard with her husband, Bruce. “People will keep the cows and calves as long as they can and put more pounds on them. Once the grass is gone, the cows drop off and the calves get bad, they might start selling them.”

Anderson said she doesn’t understand why hay prices have climbed so high in the mid-valley.

Although cattle aren’t being sold off yet, horses are, Anderson said.

“We’ve seen the price of horses drop a lot,” Anderson said. “About 1996, a No. 1 gelding would sell for about $750. Today, there are a lot of them going for $200.”

Anderson said “horses are like shoes” to some people. They can’t help but buy a cute one and wake up one day to find they have more than their farm or acreage can handle. They’re also expensive to keep and require top quality hay and other feed.

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.