Hay Market Reports

The winter of 2016-2017 was tough on hay marketers and Upper Midwest hay growers. With rain, cold weather and even snow slowing spring fieldwork and crop progress, growers faced additional challenges, while marketers began to see price improvement.

Producers are in the fields, and 2017 pre-season hay harvest acreage estimates are out. Moisture levels are the best they’ve been in years – unless you’re in a drought area. Exports provide promise, but prices remain in the doldrums.

While the 2017 growing season begins to awaken, hay prices remain in a slumber.

The pickup in buyer interest in early February failed to spring life into hay prices, which remain the lowest in six years. While widespread winter precipitation improved moisture conditions in many areas, the south-central U.S. continues to report drought conditions.

Widespread winter precipitation improved moisture conditions throughout the U.S., providing optimism for the 2017 growing season. Meanwhile, hay prices generally remained low and steady, but buyer interest was picking up in early February, suggesting the marketing year was beginning to thaw.

USDA’s crop production and hay stocks reports will update 2016 hay and forage production totals, hay inventories and alfalfa new seeding acreage estimates on Jan. 12, 2017. For now, most hay growers and marketers can be happy 2016 is in their rear-view mirror.

Harvest season has wound down, but hay markets have not yet heated up heading into the final month of 2016. Here’s a list of factors (some naughty, some nice) impacting hay producers and marketers as winter approaches.