Balance Quality, Quantity to Help Your Hay Crop ‘Catch Up’

By: Vermeer’s Makin Hay Editors

Severe blizzards, drought and rangeland fires were major storylines for hay and forage producers and cattlemen in the months leading up to spring 2018, when alfalfa and other forage crops started their growth cycles for the year.

Those challenging conditions led to shortages of necessary feed sources for many livestock producers, causing them to purchase more hay than normal or seek alternative stocks to get their herds through the winter. That caused a spike in prices, with some types of hay selling for almost twice the normal price in late winter and early spring. Continue reading

2018 Outlook: Regional Economics to Influence Hay Prices Most

By: Anna-Lisa Laca, for Drovers

For many livestock species, alfalfa is a critical component of the diet. As we look to 2018, national hay prices aren’t expected to soar, but look for regional economics to play a heavy role in the price you pay at the farm gate.

Rising highway costs are making the expense of delivering hay more of a consideration, which is resulting in very regionalized hay prices, according to Dan Undersander, a member of the University of Wisconsin Madison forage team. The latest Agricultural Prices Report from USDA shows the national average price for alfalfa was $152 per ton in October. While it’s important to note that price is representative of all quality levels, let’s compare it to the average price in several states: $185/ton in California, $205/ton in Kentucky, $219/ ton in New York and $215/ton in Tennessee. Continue reading