Estrie: a poor quality hay harvest

Agricultural producers in Estrie have had to juggle changing weather conditions for a month and for many, the first cut of hay was quite a headache.

Estrie: a poor quality hay harvest

Agricultural producers in Estrie have had to juggle changing weather conditions for a month and for many, the first cut of hay was quite a headache.

Unexpected rainfall, interspersed with short periods of sunshine, complicated the work of farmers.

Despite a large harvest in terms of quantity, the quality of the hay is the element that is lacking this year. If it is more mature, it contains less protein.

Even withered two or three times, the hay retained a certain level of humidity, thus affecting the quality of the crops.

Louis-Philippe Lemay cultivates approximately 250 acres of hay with his father for commercial purposes. Their main market, horse farms, usually requires green, soft hay. This year, the acceptable humidity threshold of 10% was more difficult to achieve.

After two years of drought, the rain was at the rendezvous.

In this regard, several producers have struggled to find a balance in the variety of their harvest.

Some delay their second cut because the soil is still too waterlogged.

Farmers are thus stuck with a surplus of production that exceeds, in some cases, the double of the quantity that they really need and they will find it difficult to find where to dispose of their surplus inventory, since there are many of them in this situation.

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