hay/pasture decreasing?

[cowman]

Maybe its just my area, but it sure seems a fair amount of hay/pasture is going under this fall? Maybe a lot of it is just fairly good conditions this fall?
I do know a lot of cowherds have seemed to "vaporize" around here and a LOT of pastures were empty this year.
Also those grain prices aren't too shabby! Although I suspect that is basically a one trick pony and could be completely different by next year?
I do find it funny that cow/calf operations seem to be shutting down...while grain acreage seems to be increasing? Who is going to eat all that extra grain? Maybe we will be giving it away again like we did to Russia in the !990s?
Again maybe this is just my area?

[blackjack]

...oops i see by the time on the computer i forgot to change my clock back...cowman out west here in the spruceview area there has also been alot of hayland dissicated...most of this land is guys that were using hayland in their rotation...hay prices have been what would you say below production costs the last couple years...so maybe the grain market will stay up for awhile if this ethanol thing works out...seems sometimes farming is becoming one big crab shoot...

[cowman]

I think ethanol/biodeisel/bio gas production might change the whole agricultural out look in this country...but I sure wish they would get at it!
A Dutch dairy farmer west of Red Deer told me he plants his farm back in Holland to maze for the local bio digester...and makes more money at it than anything else he might grow! Claims he makes more money growing maze than what he made milking cows! Maybe the day will come when we aren't growing food but crops to fuel the bio-energy business!