Hay Market Reports

From a disastrous downturn for dairy to the impact on the availability of livestock feed byproducts derived from ethanol manufacturing, COVID-19 is touching the hay market on several fronts. Here’s a look at conditions during the first week of April.

Spring always has a way of delivering a mixture of optimism and uncertainty. This year, the impact of all things “coronavirus” is resulting in seaport disruptions and creating volatile waves in trade and financial markets, increasing the level of unpredictability.

Like a baseball player, about the only thing many of us can do at this time of year is sit and stare out the window and hope for spring. The view overlooking hay markets teases with the sunshine of potential, while at the same time is clouded by a number of factors.

The USDA provided updated hay production and inventory estimates as the calendar changed to a new year and decade.

U.S. October 2019 alfalfa hay exports surged to a record monthly high of 286,608 metric tons (MT), with sales to China hitting 128,582 MT, also a U.S. record high for any month to any single country.

Winter arrived early in some parts of the country, and combined with the resurgence of China in the export market, the demand side of the forage market appears to be heating up. While forage quantity might not be the pressure point, quality almost certainly will be.