It's been a disappointing first cut of hay for many producers in the southeast. John McGregor, who manages the Green Gold program for the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association, says the dry, cool start to spring resulted in hay crops not growing as tall as they normally would by the time of the first cut around June 10th.

"When we hit Hay Day (around June 10), the crop was three to four inches shorter than what we would have seen last year and other years where we've had a fairly good crop come off. That three inches doesn't sound like an awful lot but when you look at an inch of growth, that's about half a ton of crop per acre."

On the positive side, McGregor says the recent rains and warm weather should lead to a better second cut of hay.

"Most of the fields that are in good condition are going to start putting out a good crop. I'm expecting that in the next four weeks and it could actually be closer to three weeks, that producers will be looking at their second cut coming off. And we should be back to somewhat of a normal type of crop if we continue to get the rains."

The MFGA and Manitoba Agriculture are holding a hay information day today at the Friedensfeld Hall.