State-By-State Hay Summary
Colorado—In the Aug. 12 report, compared to last week, trade activity moderate and good. Small squares of horse quality hay sold steady to 50 cents higher. Large squares of feedlot/dairy quality hay sold mostly steady. According to the USDA NASS Colorado Crop Progress report for week ending August 8, 2021, the second cutting of alfalfa is 74% harvested, third cutting 12% harvested with stored feed supplies rated 7% very short, 23% short, 56% adequate, and 14% surplus. Areas of the state are suffering from varied ratings of drought.
Missouri—In the Aug. 12 report, compared to last report, the supply of hay is moderate and demand is light to moderate and prices mostly steady. An extremely hot week throughout the state. There was some rain around but typical summer patterns of pop up isolated light sprinkles to heavy downpours and nothing wide spread. A bit of a cool down forecasted for the upcoming weekend. Pastures continue to be in very good shape with 74% rated good to excellent and another 24% in fair, leaving only 2% in poor and nothing in the very poor rating. There has been a few counties in northwest Missouri show up in the latest drought monitor as abnormally dry now. Basically all the western border counties from the Iowa line down to Kansas City.
Nebraska—In the Aug. 12 report, compared to last week, alfalfa sold steady to $15 higher, grass hay steady to $10 higher. Ground and delivered hay steady in the Platte Valley and $35 higher in the western side of the state. Dehydrated and sun-cured alfalfa pellets remain steady. Demand was very good for all bales of forage. Quite a lot of out of state pressure on the market. Several reports of there is hay sitting in the field, but producers have not put a price on it. Spotty rain showers in some areas of the state getting up to 6 to 8 inches in places. Most of the state is dry and could use a general rain from west to east and north to south. Silage choppers getting geared up. Limited, fields of short cane have been chopped. With the hot, dry weather prevailing dryland corn is stressed. More than likely it will be getting chopped in the very near future.
Oklahoma—In the Aug. 6 report, compared to the last report on July 23, quality hay trade has slowed in most areas. With continued moisture and cooler temperatures there has been an ample supply of hay, making it a buyers market. With widespread rainfall across the state, production will continue, with many expecting a fifth cutting of alfalfa this year. Many producers are yielding less and lower quality hay. Grinding alfalfa prices dropped $10 per ton, while grass hay prices remain mostly steady. With low milk prices, dairies are switching to cheaper alternatives for the rations such as straw and silage.
Texas—In the Aug. 6 report, compared to the last report, hay prices are mostly steady. Trading activity and demand have slowed down due to pasture improvements from recent rainfalls. Producers in the south are still having a hard time laying down hay due to excessive moisture in the fields and frequent rain storms. A lot of off grade hay with some stripe in it is on the market due to excessive rains while producers were bailing in all regions. As a result, grinding quality or off grade hay has cheapened up due to excess supply. However, premium to supreme hay is getting harder to come by and is expected to remain firm into the foreseeable future. Due to limited sales this report will be released bi-weekly and next report will be released Aug. 20.
New Mexico—In the Aug. 13 report, compared to last week, alfalfa big bale prices steady; small bales slightly lower. Beardless wheat steady on limited supplies. Trade moderate to active, demand moderate to good. The southern and southwestern part of New Mexico are finished with the fourth cutting. The eastern part of the state are in the fourth cutting. The northern part of the state are in the third cutting. Heavy rain in the southern part of the state late in the week.
South Dakota—In the Aug. 13 report, compared to last week, all classes of hay remain firm. Very good demand remains for all classes and types of hay. Producers that were making their third cutting of alfalfa had to contend with high dew points and poor curing conditions this week, rain was not widespread however. More hot weather in the forecast for the weekend and start of the week but cooler weather and rain later next week. Cattle producers continue to sell down their herds to match their forage supplies.
Wyoming—In the Aug. 12 report, compared to last week, all reported hay products sold fully steady. Demand was good with buyer interest from out of state and from the local trade areas. Tough decisions are on the horizon for livestock owners on whether to procure high priced hay or to sell down on numbers of livestock they manage. Several reports from Wyoming contacts there probable will not be enough hay to go around. Some barley fields combined around 30 bushels per acre less than last year. Hot temps at pollination and having a hard time keeping up with irrigation might have been some reasons of the decrease in bushels. Some producers in the east are on or have finished up there third cutting of alfalfa and west producers on their second cutting. Most producers feel like they should get one more cutting before the frost.
Montana—In the Aug. 13 report, compared to last week, hay sold fully steady. Demand was very good for all hay being offered. Many producers are starting to wrap up second cutting and some are beginning to cut third in southern and eastern locations. Producers continue to report long waiting lists of people looking for hay. Many are already supplementing hay as pasture and range conditions continue to deteriorate. Hay sales were much slower this week as many producers were in the fields working on grain harvest. Some producers are holding on to some hay supplies so they have hay left to sell in the spring. According to the drought monitor 100% of the state is in moderate drought or worse. 98.7% of the state is in an severe drought or worse and 68.35% of the state is in extreme drought or worse and 11.52% of the state is in an exceptional drought unchanged since last week.
