The government is back in the hay price reporting business. Unfortunately for hay sellers, the news hasn’t changed much during the hiatus.
After peaking at $191 per ton in May, the average price for alfalfa hay dropped to $159 per ton during November, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Prices report. That value was $9 lower than October and $5 below one year ago. From a record-high value of $288 per ton in April 2023, the average price of alfalfa has now fallen by a whopping $129 per ton.
The average price for grass hay in November fell by $6 per ton to $134, which was the low watermark for the year and the lowest monthly average price recorded since December 2020.
The price paid for Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay during November dropped from $223 to $216 per ton, which was a decline of $24 per ton from the beginning of the year.
Five states had a double-digit month-over-month alfalfa price gain during November. Minnesota was up by $16 per ton and followed by Wisconsin at $11 per ton. Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming were all up by $10 per ton.
Only Colorado had a double-digit decline in average alfalfa price, which had a month-over-month reduction of $15 per ton.
The highest average November alfalfa hay price was reported in New Mexico and Pennsylvania at $260 per ton. It was followed by New York at $250, while California and Kentucky posted a price of $235 per ton.
North Dakota had the lowest average alfalfa price at $92 per ton. It was followed by South Dakota at $98 and Nebraska at $103 per ton.
Keep in mind that USDA average prices account for all qualities and bale types of hay sold. Also, the final U.S. estimate is a volume-weighted average rather than a simple average of state values. Those states with the most volume sales will impact the final U.S. dollar value more than those states with fewer sales.
Supreme and Premium
The USDA also tracks the prices of Supreme and Premium quality alfalfa in the major dairy states and determines an average price from the five top milk-producing states (California, Idaho, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin). This data is used to determine feed prices in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.
For November, the average price of Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay fell by $7 per ton. The November average alfalfa price posted at $216, which was $19 per ton below the average price from a year ago.
Other hay
The November average price of other hay also continued a negative trend line. It posted a November average price of $134 per ton, down by $6 from the previous month. This was $16 per ton lower than the previous year.
The highest November price for hay other than alfalfa was reported in California, Oregon, and Washington at $210 per ton. New Mexico followed at $205, while Pennsylvania posted a $195 per ton price.
North Dakota had the lowest reported other hay average price at $69 per ton. It was followed by Minnesota at $70 per ton.
