After trending downward for much of the winter, dairy-quality alfalfa hay prices have picked up recently at the Mid-American Auction Co. quality-tested hay sales in Sauk Centre, MN.
“It’s not unusual to see prices turn upward a little bit in the spring,” says Dan Martens, University of Minnesota Extension educator in Stearns, Benton and Morrison counties.
“Livestock producers are taking a look at their feed inventories and want to make sure they have enough on hand to get them through until the new crop. This year, we had a colder winter, so producers were going through more of their feed supplies to keep their livestock humming along. As a result, supplies may be running a little low on some farms.”
At Mid-American’s April 3 sale, four loads of alfalfa with relative feed value (RFV) in the 176-200 range sold for an average price of $292/ton. The prices ranged from $270 to $325/ton. Prices for nine loads of alfalfa at 151-175 RFV averaged $234/ton and ranged from $200 to $285/ton.
Spring in the region is “unfolding slowly,” Martens says. But there’s still plenty of time to wind up with a normal first-cut harvest schedule, which is typically one week on either side of Memorial Day weekend. “It will depend on what the weather does from here on out.”
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