MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake dairyman John Avila discovered a win-win solution to find feed for his operation of 2,500 cattle.

He works with five local corn and hay growers to harvest and buy their crops.

The arrangement works well, as Avila said he knows the benefits of bringing high-moisture crops like corn and hay off the field to avoid mildew.

Corn harvest was delayed last fall, with one of Avila's neighbors harvesting last week. Corn harvest typically takes place in October.

"It's like, 'You plant, you pick,'" said Mark Leader, of the Washington Dairy Products Commission. "What he is doing with his neighbors is innovative."

Buying Grant County crops reduces dependence on grain market fluctuations, Leader explained. Some examples include when corn prices reached record highs in 2011, because of ethanol production, and a Texas drought that resulted in alfalfa prices increasing significantly.

Locally, corn costs about $250 per ton, or $6.80 per bushel, Avila said. Hay pricing is expected to be slightly cheaper this year.

"I don't think exports will be as good as they've been," he said. "Corn prices have gone down, but go back up. USDA corn  prices are $5.80 to $6.60 per bushel."

In Moses Lake, Avila's Dairy employs 20 people and milks 2,500 cows.

Avila's son, Eddie Avila, works at the dairy with his dad. The dairy sits on a 400-acre spread.

John Avila came to Washington state from Hanford, Calif. 22 years ago, where feed and ground were more expensive. He leased ground in California and was also considering moving to the Willamette Valley in Oregon before coming to Washington.

He initially came to Farm in a Day in Moses Lake, which he still owns. Farm in a Day was built in the 1950s to publicize the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project and originally owned by a World War II veteran.

Today John Avila raises calves on the 300 acres at Farm in a Day.

His business, Avila's Dairy, ships its milk to Dairygold.

"We buy a lot of commodities and only sell one," John Avila said.

Lynne Schmoe, of the Washington Dairy Products Commission, points out Grant County is one of the counties in Washington with available land.

Affordable power, water and irrigated land are the benefits of Grant County, John Avila said.

The growing season for corn is better here than on the West side of the state, he explains.

"Grant County ground has a lot of competition with potatoes and Timothy hay," he said. "There is a lot of competition for ground."

Ground in California is still more expensive than in Washington. He said there are now many tree crops in California, including pistachios and walnuts.