Just wanted to share with you my experience on buying dairy hay yesterday. For the first time I had to buy alfalfa hay from another provider other than my parents who grow their own for the beef cattle. It is terribly dry in my area and we didnt have extra hay this year. The alfalfa/grass mix that I bought earlier this year just turned out to be grass, with a few specks of alfalfa in it. So yesterday I called a few hay providers in Colorado to find rich dairy hay for my milkers who will kid in February.
I dont think some folks know about the alfalfa weevil. They are terrible pests that eat the alfalfa plant and in some cases kill entire fields. To my knowledge they are widespread. Every supplier that I contacted had to spray for these pests. They told me that I was the first person that ever asked. Fortunately they were all very honest when I told them that I didnt want any sprayed alfalfa for my dairy goats since we drank the milk.
Just a thought as many of you may be trying to keep their milk as natural as possible....
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Thanks for sharing that! I asked once years ago, and the farmer told me they just sprayed the fields with ammonium, which is what everyone does around here to add nitrogen to the soil. Whenever this drought is over and I have hay again, I'll ask about pesticides.