December hay prices hold steady

In last week's USDA Agricultural Prices report, December hay prices held about as firm as firm can get. The all-hay price held steady from November at $142 per ton while alfalfa hay did the same at $150 per ton (see table below). Hay other than alfalfa increased slightly from $127 to $129 per ton (data not shown).

The USDA price averages account for all qualities of hay sold and the final U.S. estimate is a volume-weighted average. In other words, it's not a simple average of states. Those states with the most volume sales will impact the final U.S. dollar value more than those states with fewer sales.

The December alfalfa price is $30 per ton lower than one year ago. The largest month-to-month price movement among states included Michigan (minus $40), New York (plus $25), Pennsylvania (minus $22), Oregon (minus $20) and Oklahoma (plus $18).

The complete USDA Agricultural Prices report can be viewed here.