Q: I am considering producing hay for at least my own horses within the next few years. I’ve heard of sustainable hay production, but I don’t know much about it. What is it, and what do I need to get started?

A: Sustainable hay production refers to practices that protect the environment while producing a high-quality hay crop, says Sandy Young, owner of Treasure Valley Hay, in Nampa, Idaho. Young has been a hay broker since 2008, focusing primarily on providing high-quality hay for horse owners in Southwestern Idaho, but she has customers in all Western states.

“Growers want to produce a high-quality product and feed the world … as well as (understand) what they need to produce it,” says Young. When she evaluates a potential hay grower before agreeing to broker their hay, she looks for “good quality, good color, and fresh smell without mold or foreign objects.”

She also considers the grower’s farming practices. “Is their hay produced as organically as possible, without chemicals?” she says. “If a grower is spraying, what are they using?”

Sustainable grass hay production usually involves growing a variety of plant species in the same field. “It often includes rotating crops, such as with teff hay, which will help maintain soil health,” says Young. “Using integrated pest management strategies (a science-based approach combining different pet control tools) will help reduce chemical use.

“Promoting biodiversity and long-term soil health are all part of regenerative agriculture, the new buzzword these days,” Young adds. This means the grower employs techniques such as planting cover crops, reducing or eliminating tillage (plowing), which disrupts the soil’s ecosystem, and avoiding bare, exposed soil that’s prone to erosion from wind or rain. It also involves using organic fertilizers and trace minerals, and reducing or eliminating chemical inputs to support soil microbes and improve soil structure and fertility, she adds. These practices help the soil retain moisture, which reduces polluted runoff and dust storms.

“Healthy, living soils help plants grow longer, stronger root systems, which in turn allow plants to better utilize minerals and nutrients in the soil,” says Young. “It’s becoming so obvious that soils are deficient from decades of modern farming practices that have depleted our soils of microbes and nutrients.”

Healthy soils are a balance of organic matter, trace minerals, soil life, and the plants grown.

Take-Home Message

Sustainable hay production involves protecting the environment while producing a high-quality hay crop. This can include producing forage as organically as possible, with minimal chemicals and a focus on the long-term health of balanced soils. “Sourcing sustainably grown hay is protecting the environment,” says Young.