Hay Market Reports

With the 2017 hay crop tucked away in sheds and stacks, growing-season factors take a back seat to domestic and foreign demand in driving hay prices.

Monthly alfalfa hay exports dipped below 200,000 metric tons (MT) in September, just the third time that’s happened in the past 17 months. Despite the slight downturn, year-to-date 2017 alfalfa hay export sales topped 2 million MT and remain well on their way to a new record annual high.

It’s the fourth quarter of 2017, and the forage harvest season is starting to wind down. Here’s a look back at prices and marketing conditions.

Late August and early September threw more curveballs at hay growers, with hurricanes hitting the Gulf Coast and Southeast, fire and smoke impacting haying activity and hay quality in the Northwest, and the drought lingering in the Northern Plains.

Dairy is the dog that wags the western U.S. hay market tail, but exports are starting to add more waggle.

It’s not yet coming in waves, but domestic and foreign ripples are impacting the U.S. hay market.