Small square hay bale prices in the Midwest were up 19% compared to those of a week earlier, according to the Weekly Hay Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest, compiled by the University of Wisconsin’s Ken Barnett.
Large square prices were down 9%, while large round prices were down 3%. Barnett characterizes sales activity as “light to moderate.”
Missouri hay sales were particularly light, he reports. “Hay movement is nearly non-existent, except for a few scattered sales to horse or dairy farms. Many more trucks are finding other loads or are sitting as opposed to hauling hay. High-quality alfalfa is a bit difficult to find, but the heavy supply of lower- to mid-quality hay is overshadowing that and just resulting in more sales of supplement.”
The average price of small-square straw bales in the Midwest as of Nov. 20 was $3.06/bale, up 2% from prices of the previous week. Large square bale prices averaged $31.50/bale, up 21% from the previous week’s prices. The average price for large round straw bales dropped to $12/bale, down 70% from prices tabulated two weeks earlier.