It already looks like 2022 could be challenging for hay growers in the Pacific Northwest.
Shipping container prices remain at an all-time high, making exporting hay more difficult.
According to Washington State Hay Growers Association President, Andrew Eddie, “So, their turnaround time for those containers instead of putting forage products on them and shipping them overseas and tying them up for say a month or 45 days, they can turn it around and ship it back and more imports will come in. So, that will be tough; it’s going to be something to overcome. Hopefully, there is a silver lining sometime, but if the costs don’t come down it is really not too feasible. So, I think 2022 is going to be domestic market very heavily.”
WSHGA says that cultivating this year’s crop will be expensive, but input costs have tripled.
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