The hay stocks figure in USDA’s May Crop Production report showed a giant leap in hay inventory available, increasing 5.5 million tons from last year, a 37% jump. Kansas, Missouri, Oregon, and Louisiana saw increases in excess of 100% over last year. Great Plains corridor states all showed positive increases in hay available, while the Southeast was noticeably down compared to a year ago.

Overall, the U.S. is starting the year off with the percent of pasture and range in very poor to poor conditions near the five-year average for most regions. The exception is the Northeast, which is at or below the five-year average in these two categories. Most regions are showing higher incidents of very poor or poor rated pastures and range compared to the prior year, according to the Daily Livestock Report.