Hay exports in 2025 totaled 2.7 million metric tons (MT), according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). This was down 17% year-over-year, following a relatively flat trend the previous year. Trade disputes and steep exchange rates with our nation’s largest hay export markets had a significant impact on the reduced annual total. China and Japan — the biggest consumers of U.S. alfalfa and grass hay, respectively — imported substantially less product in 2025. In fact,

Knowing the forces that shape feed efficiency is only half the story; the next step is using them to your advantage. As a part of a series discussing feed efficiency for dairy farms, this article explores strategies related to feeding and management that farms can use to influence it. In this article, Feed Efficiency specifically refers to energy-corrected milk divided by dry matter intake (ECM/DMI), an on-farm metric to evaluate cows’ conversion of feed into milk. Feeding St

Feed efficiency has become a growing topic in the dairy industry, driven by sustainability goals and desires to optimize farm profit. But what is feed efficiency, how can it be influenced, and should you use the measure on your farm? What is Feed Efficiency? At its core, feed efficiency asks how well do cows utilize the feed that is provided. There are many ways to define feed efficiency depending on context, whether in research, genetic evaluation or farm management. The mos