Hay Market Reports

A wet, cool spring, dairy’s slow climb to better milk prices and trade war rhetoric continue to try the patience of many hay growers and marketers.

Many variables remain, but the USDA’s initial estimate of 2019 acreage devoted to major crops indicates little change in the area harvested for dry hay compared to a year ago.

Although the calendar says spring, the winter of 2018-19 still has some story to tell, affecting both domestic and export forage markets.

Several major dairy states entered winter with substantially lower on-farm hay inventories compared to a year ago, based on a semiannual hay stocks report from the USDA.

With some USDA employees furloughed and offices closed, several regular statistical and market reports affecting hay and forage producers have been cancelled or delayed. Here’s an update on what we know.

It’s the time of year when all three spirits of the hay year come into view: past (production), present (stocks) and future (markets). For now, it’s the export market that’s likely causing the most sleepless nights.