Spring Field Day - May 11, 2013
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Coming soon!
The majority of the Columbia Basin Hay Growers Association (CBHGA) members are from Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties. These three counties represent 30.5% of all alfalfa production and 24.2% of all hay produced in the state of Washington. Benton, Franklin, Adams and Grant counties account for 67% of the alfalfa production and 53% of all hay produced in the state. It is obvious that alfalfa is the primary forage grown by members of the CBHGA with some timothy and other grass forages making up the difference. Forages are grown almost entirely on irrigated land and with the average of frost free days of 153 days for Northern part of Franklin county and 184 for the Southern part, production can reach as high as 10 tons per acre for some areas resulting in an average of 7 tons per acre for the county.
The primary mission of the CBHGA is to provide avenues for communication and education of forage producers, scientists, educators and industry representatives to share and obtain information that could help in producing forages in a profitable manner through economically and environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The avenues include co-sponsoring an annual hay meeting that occurs in Basin City each year in December, a Hay King Contest at the Benton Franklin Fair and Rodeo in August, and a forage field day in March or April. In addition, as a chapter of the Washington State Hay Growers Association (WSHGA), the CBHGA supports and participates in a WSHGA annual convention in January and provides members that are active on the WSHGA board of directors. Many of the educational opportunities include pest identification and control, irrigation practices, pros and cons of biotechnology, new farm tool practices and uses, potential toxicants in hay, hay production and export information, hay market and dairy outlooks, product development, product performance as well as other pertinent topics.
Current Officers
Joe Olmstead, President
(509) 292-2604
Mark Herbes, Vice-President
(509) 276-5955
Matt Kummer, Treasurer
(509) 998-0777
Nathan Larson, Secretary
(509) 951-2053
North East Washington Hay Growers Association (NEWHGA) includes Spokane, Stevens, Ferry and Pend Orielle counties. A wide variety of high quality forages are grown in these areas. While the growing season is short, the moderate temperatures and adequate rainfall is nearly perfect for growing alfalfa, timothy, grain forages and a variety of grasses that compete on an equal basis with forages grown anywhere in Idaho and Washington.
As an organization, NEWHGA has several goals - education of producers and consumers concerning hay quality issues, spraying, fertilizers, environmental issues, water quality, and conservation are just a few of the items that are discussed. A spring field day in May allows us to demonstrate proper techniques and observe strategies first hand. An annual meeting in December is used to educate in a more traditional classroom approach. Hay King contests are sponsored at the Spokane Interstate Fair, Deer Park, Cusick, and Colville fairs. Free hay tests are provided by NEWHGA for all forages entered in the fair. This encourages forage testing, helps demonstrate the importance of testing forages for quality, and provides for competition to produce higher quality forages. Consumers show a great deal of interest in the hay test results and ask very good questions which leads to a lot of good discussion. NEWHGA is very active with Washington State Hay Growers in addressing political issues that affect agriculture and forages. We also are active in helping members sell their forages through our "hay for sale" listing on this website and other advertising methods.
NEWHGA meets the second Tuesday of each month, September through May. Meetings are at the Clayton, Washington restaurant at 9:00 AM and usually last about an hour and a half
For more information contact:
Joe Olmstead (509-292-2604)