March dairy cattle, hay exports slip

March dairy cattle exports slip

March 2012 U.S. female dairy cattle exports dipped to 3,007 head, the lowest monthly total since February 2011. For the fifth time in six months, Russia the leading destination for most of the heifers, according to USDA’s Foreign Ag Service.

March exports brought the year-to-date (Y-T-D) total to 13,954 head, compared to 17,766 head for the same period in record-setting 2011. Last March, more than 9,600 head were exported, including nearly 7,400 head to Turkey alone.

Russia imported 1,158 U.S. dairy replacement females in March 2012, bringing its Y-T-D total to 8,196 head, or about 59% of all U.S. exports so far this year.

Last year’s female dairy cattle export market leader, Turkey imported 988 head in March, for a three-month total of 2,942.

 

Hay exports down 

After setting a record in February, March U.S. alfalfa hay exports declined slightly, according to USDA’s Foreign Ag Service. March exports totaled 138,464 metric tons, bringing the 2012 three-month total to 448,937 metric tons.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) imported 40,027 metric tons of U.S. alfalfa hay in March, topping the list of foreign buyers for the month, and bringing its three-month total to 127,034 metric tons.

Japan, the leading U.S. alfalfa hay market, imported 36,821 metric tons in March, for a three-month total of 136,292 metric tons, about 30% of the U.S. Y-T-D total. China, South Korea and Oman rounded out the top five markets in March.

U.S. exports of other hay in March totaled 153,083 metric tons, for a three-month total to 454,780 metric tons. Japan imported 274,972 metric tons of other hay from the U.S. during the first three months of 2012, or nearly 60% of the total. South Korea, China, Taiwan and UAE rounded out the top five markets for other hay in March.