Weekly Hay Market Demand And Price Report For The Upper Midwest As Of November 14 , 2014

Demand and Sales Activity

Compared to the previous week, small square bal e prices were down 37 %. Large square bale prices were steady . Large round bale prices were up 1 % . Sales activity was very light to moderate .

For Nebraska , hay prices were steady to $21.45 low er on limited alfalfa hay sales . Very cold temperatures have made their way into Nebraska and one would think hay demand would increase sharply but it hasn’t. The majority of the cattle continue to graze in fall pastures or corn fields and have not required being supplemented with hay as of now. But as we all know that can change in a flip of a coin. For Iowa , hay prices were steady on very limited alfalfa hay sales . Trading is very limited, not much top quality hay was produced this summer due to excessive moisture so some hay is getting imported from surrounding states for dairy purposes.

In South Dakota , hay prices were steady to $ 5.75 low er . There was v ery good demand for grass h ay this week to start calves on; demand was good for high testing dairy quality hay; and demand was more moderate for alfalfa suitable only for grinding. Corn stalk baling was going fast and fu rious before Monday when the Arctic blast brought bitter cold temps and snow north of US highway 14 arrived. South of US 14 conditions remain open allowing those balers to keep running , but there is snow in the forecast for Saturday. As calves are arrivi ng in yards to be started on feed , there is a lot of interest in good grass hay. There doesn’t seem to be as much interest on alfalfa unless it is some high testing hay suitable for a dairy ration.

For Missouri , alfalfa hay prices were steady on very lim ited alfalfa hay sales . Hay supply is moderate to heavy and demand is light . An extreme blast of frigid air made farmers dig out all the winter wear this week. Many are hoping that this only temporary and isn’t a sign of the beginning of a very long win ter ahead. Some snow is in the forecast for the upcoming weekend, regardless of snow cover or not, some producers are saying they have already started feeding some hay or very close to as fall pastures have been used up.

In Southwest Minnesota , hay price s were $ 7.10 low er . There was no report for Illinois .

For Wisconsin, hay prices were $ 1.65 low er at a quality - tested hay auction in Fennimore . Straw pric es in the Midwest averaged $ 3.53 per s mall square bale (range of $ 2 .00 to $5. 00); $ 43 . 73 per lar ge square bale (range of $ 25 .00 to $ 61.88 ) ; and $ 33 . 75 per large round bale (range of $ 25.00 to $ 42.5 0 ). Compared to the previous week, straw pric e s for small square bales were 4 % low er . For la rge sq uare bales, prices were 2 % lower . For large round bale s, prices were 11 % lower .

Source:uwex.edu