🔒Hay fever: UMaine professor helps maximize value of Maine’s hay crop

Hay is a major crop in Maine. With a centuries-old livestock tradition and with demand for local foods on the rise, Maine’s hay production is becoming an increasingly important part of the state’s agricultural economy. Jaime Garzon, an extension and dairy science professor at the University of Maine, has initiated several projects to improve Maine’s hay crop and assist Maine’s livestock producers. Originally from Colombia, Garzon has worked in Florida and brings a wealth of knowledge to his position in Maine. Historically, Maine has always been rich in natural resources — fish, lumber and agricultural products remain key contributors to the economy. Where Maine has struggled has been getting all the value inherent in natural resources to benefit its residents. Though this is changing, products like potatoes or lobster grown or harvested in Maine were often sent out of state to be processed; the “value added” was added in places other than Maine.

Quality focus

Roughly 120,000 acres of hay are cut in Maine annually, with under 10,000 acres of that being high-value alfalfa. Although dwarfed by the $257.3 million generated by the state’s potato crop, the Maine hay crop was valued at $41.4 million last year (of which $5.17 million is alfalfa), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2024 Garzon started the Maine Hay Contest. “More than just the competition, my main goal is to raise awareness about the importance of assessing hay quality. It is not solely about yield; it is also crucial to understand the hay energy and protein content for the animals,” says Garzon. Given that hay is Maine’s third most productive crop, the hay contest seeks to give the crop a venue where quality is king. The contest also puts the idea of quality hay into the minds of producers. “Over the past two years of running this contest, the highest-quality hay has been produced by Henry and Theresa Hardy of Hardy Farm in Farmington. I was very surprised to see such high values for relative feed quality and digestibility, along with appropriate fiber and crude protein levels, coming from an organic operation that doesn’t use chemical fertilizers,” says Garzon. He attributes the Hardys’ success to the way they manage their land and forage, and the dedication they have for farming.

Farm income

Mike Clewley of Melody Ridge Farm in Pittsfield makes and sells hay. His hay won second place at the 2024 Maine Hay Contest organized by professor Garzon. “It was edifying. It taught me things I didn’t know about the hay,” says Clewley. Melody Ridge Farm, a diversified operation with grass-fed beef and other products, gets a significant portion of its gross income from hay sales. “That’s our primary farm income,” says Clewley. Clewley goes to great effort to make sure the hay he makes goes to the right customer. “This is a match-making game,” he says. Certain types and amounts of hay, if matched with the right customer, will result in happy livestock producers and repeat customers. Rather than just making a product — hay — and hoping customers buy it, Clewley has thought long and hard about putting the most value into the product and making sure the hay goes where it needs to go. One product that has been a good seller is alfalfa and timothy mix. “The first year we sold the alfalfa and timothy mix — we learned that you will have repeat customers,” says Clewley. Because of the quality of the forage, there is little waste. Alfalfa does well in drier conditions, which has helped in recent drought years. Clewley, who works in the woods in the winter, recognizes that Maine has not always benefited from its wealth of natural resources. “Is it our solution to just let the rest of the world exploit us? It’s always driven by something outside of us,” he remarks, speaking about resources like agricultural products and the state’s forest industry.

Hey, not all hays are the same

Not all hay is the same. Hay cut earlier in the year generally has more protein and other nutrients livestock need. In rainy years, it can be difficult to dry hay properly, diminishing quality. In addition, different species of livestock have different nutritional needs. Garzon aims to help make Maine hay the most valuable and productive hay it can be. One element of hay production Garzon focuses on is what he calls “the summer slump.” This is the time in the middle of summer when high temperatures create less than ideal conditions for many of Maine’s cool season grasses. One potential aid for producers to get through the summer slump is a crop that has never been grown in Maine until recently — Sunn Hemp. “I started working with Sunn Hemp during my dissertation at the University of Florida because it is a plant also found in Colombia. I saw its rapid growth firsthand, reaching over seven feet in two months, and as a legume, it has great potential to improve soil health,” says Garzon. Using a tropical legume like Sunn Hemp to help Maine’s hay producers and livestock farmers meant a special kind of problem solving — but what were the results? In 2024, Garzon planted Sunn Hemp that reached 53 inches in height in two months and, because it is a legume, it fixed nitrogen from the air that can be incorporated into the soil for the benefit of future crops. Although the Sunn Hemp did not reach the same height or biomass as it would in Florida or Columbia, the results showed that it can be a viable and productive hay crop even in short-season Maine. In 2025, conditions were more adverse — drought spread over much of Maine throughout the growing season. Still, Garzon’s 2025 Sunn Hemp produced 900 pounds of dry matter at 60 days and added 10 kilograms of nitrogen per acre — fixed naturally from the air. “I think those results speak for themselves,” says Garzon, as he looks forward to testing Sunn Hemp further in 2026 and hopes for an end to drought.

Problem solver

Having a forage expert with Garzon’s experience and training is a boon to the state’s agricultural economy. As a student and young professor years ago, Garzon originally aimed to focus on animal reproduction but didn’t feel that he excelled in those university classes and ultimately felt more and more drawn to the world of forages. “When I taught at the university or at family gatherings, my students and relatives asked me: ‘Grasses? How are you going to succeed knowing about grasses? Those are the same plants I have in my garden, and the less I bother them, the better they do,’” says Garzon. Now, his affinity to forages has allowed him to travel the world and take a position as Maine’s preeminent specialist on the topic. Garzon is a problem solver and has a strong practical side. He recognizes that the main problem facing Maine’s farmers is not esoteric or obscure. “I believe this is one of the biggest challenges for hay producers in Maine: the need for tractors and implements, along with the knowledge and skills to operate and maintain them properly,” he says. In addition to the capital and experience and skills necessary for the equipment essential to agriculture, farmers need land. Aroostook County is Maine’s so-called Potato Empire. Although it is not still the dominant potato growing place in the country, potatoes still dominant the county’s landscape. Still, acreage is down — partially because yield per acre is up. Could more acreage in the County be producing high quality hay? The land is there — in various parts of the state — but the changing climate of Maine also offers problems. “Historically, there were weather patterns that repeated every year, but that is no longer the case. The problem arises when the farmer counts on these two- or three-day dry spells, but then a heavy rain hits. All the effort from the past 30 to 60 days to keep the grass healthy, properly managed, and harvested at the right time goes to waste,” says Garzon. The success of Maine’s agricultural economy, in the context of a difficult national economy and a changing climate, is rooted in the cooperation of specialists like Garzon and the state’s many farmers. Mike Clewley definitely figures climate into his plan when he is making and marketing hay —doing his forage match-making. “With it being a drought one year and a swamp the next year, you just can’t have enough ground,” he says. Clewley farms his own land in Pittsfield but also manages land off-farm. “The loss of the large dairy farmers has left a lot of the fields unmanaged,” he notes, explaining that unused fields are both an opportunity and a challenge. Maintaining productive fields takes time, effort and inputs — the productivity of Maine’s hayfields draws upon the efforts of researchers like Garzon and the in-field work of farmers like Clewley.