[shotgun]

Should be close to an even trade. Exporting hay to Asia is big business here in eastern Washington. A ton of quality non-export hay is $375 locally and over $500 if shipped to western Washington.

Once you figure fumigating, container rental, trucking to the port, and shipping cost its probably over $1,000 on delivery.

[Vigilanteman]

You speak the truth. In a former life, I was involved in that business on the Japan side. Another common way to ship alfalfa to Japan is to pressure treat and press it into hay cubes slightly larger than standard ice cubes. You get more hay in a container that way than with bales.

You can also skip fumigation because the heating and pressurization does the same trick.