Start Date
2-23-2012 2:30 PM
Description
Powell Farms started in 1996 with 15 acres of Alfalfa hay intended for cow/calf feed. A neighbor and his friends bought every bale that year. Over the next 14 years the only alfalfa hay our cows got to eat was when a cutting got wet and was rolled. Production per acre was good, demand exceeded production and price per bale continued to rise. Roundup Ready came on the market and we were finally able to produce clean pure high quality alfalfa. All was going well for our alfalfa business. Then came the 2008 challenge with the economic down turn, drought and off the chart alfalfa prices. Then in 2009 the horse market went into a decline and the demand for horse grade alfalfa went down. For the first time we carried over unsold 2000 bales from 2009 to 2010. It seemed to be a good time to start looking for another market outlet for Powell Farms Alfalfa.
Included in
Farmer Panel--Getting More from Your Alfalfa
Powell Farms started in 1996 with 15 acres of Alfalfa hay intended for cow/calf feed. A neighbor and his friends bought every bale that year. Over the next 14 years the only alfalfa hay our cows got to eat was when a cutting got wet and was rolled. Production per acre was good, demand exceeded production and price per bale continued to rise. Roundup Ready came on the market and we were finally able to produce clean pure high quality alfalfa. All was going well for our alfalfa business. Then came the 2008 challenge with the economic down turn, drought and off the chart alfalfa prices. Then in 2009 the horse market went into a decline and the demand for horse grade alfalfa went down. For the first time we carried over unsold 2000 bales from 2009 to 2010. It seemed to be a good time to start looking for another market outlet for Powell Farms Alfalfa.