Hay Prices Steady After a Drop in 2024

Weather Plays a Major Wild Card in Hay Price Direction for 2025

Russ Quinn
By  Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter
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Total hay production in 2024 was up 3.3% nationally, year-over-year. May 1, 2024, hay stocks were up 46.6% over 2023 levels to increase the total hay supply by 7.9% compared to year-ago levels. (DTN file photo by Jennifer Carrico)

OMAHA (DTN) -- After a huge price decline in 2024, hay prices have settled into a lower range. Increased forage production last year saw many more tons of hay available; this additional supply pushed prices lower.

As we head into the 2025 growing season, weather looks to be the most important influencing factor on hay prices. While a snowy end to winter might cause prices to spike, what kind of growing season occurs and how much forage production is seen will be the key with hay prices this year.

HAY PRICES DECLINE SIGNIFICANTLY

The price of hay saw a large drop in 2024, thanks to increased forage production in the United States. In a recent article titled "Larger Hay Supplies; Lower Hay Prices" by Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel, he took a closer look at some of the numbers with hay production. (See https://extension.okstate.edu/…)

Total hay production in 2024 was up 3.3% nationally, year-over-year. May 1, 2024, hay stocks were up 46.6% over 2023 levels to increase total hay supply by 7.9% compared to year-earlier levels. The total hay supply was 1.7% below the 10-year average supply from 2014-23.

Peel wrote that in winter 2024-25, Dec. 1 hay stocks were up 6.3%, year-over-year, though still 3.2% below the 10-year average. Hay stocks have recovered from the drought-reduced levels of 2022 and 2023 and, as a result, hay prices dropped from record levels.

It was not a perfect growing season: Alfalfa hay production was down, compared to the 10-year average in some important dairy states (California, Idaho) as well as in some mostly beef cow states (Montana, South Dakota).

But many other states did see more forage production thanks to increased moisture levels.

Texas is the largest hay producer in the country; Dec. 1 stocks were well-above average, Peel wrote.

"In many states, increased hay supplies are providing more management flexibility for cattle producers and lower hay costs are reducing annual cost of production," Peel wrote.

HAY PRICE DEPENDS ON GROWING CONDITIONS

The increased production in 2024 has made more hay available for those who want to buy hay, said Dan Helle, owner of the Dyersville Hay and Straw Auction in Dyersville, Iowa. Helle purchased the auction in the summer of 2024 and moved it 2 miles south of town. He noted there is a lot of hay available right now, especially grass hay, at lower prices.

He said dairy quality hay still will bring generally in the $230- to $260-ton range. On their sale from Jan. 15, large square alfalfa bales brought $150 to $230 ton, while round bales were $155 ton.

Lesser quality alfalfa large square bales brought $80 to $145 ton, while round bales were $70 to $117.50 ton. Large square bales of grass hay were $90 ton, while round bales of grass sold for $55 to $90 ton.

"We just had such a good growing season last year that there is a lot of hay out there," Helle told DTN.

Farther east, the 2024 growing season was extremely dry, according to Kim Summers, who sells hay from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Summers, known as the "Hay Lady from PA" on social media, grows and sells hay.

Her hay supply was "a bit spotty" heading into winter 2024-25 because of production cuts from dry weather. The volume of hay she normally sells is somewhat less because of this situation, she explained.

"It was pretty rough on all crops, hay and gardens here," Summers said.

Because of this, the price of her hay is slightly higher this winter. She and her husband, Mark Brunk, sell small square bales of alfalfa, timothy and orchard grass across the country.

Her hay prices are generally about $1 per bale higher than last year at the same time. Alfalfa hay is $8 to $14 bale, while grass hay is in the $8- to $14-bale range.

WEATHER DETERMINES HAY PRICES

The outlook for hay prices in 2025 will depend on the weather -- both this winter and the next growing season.

In the near term, Helle said he believes hay prices will likely remain steady to maybe a little lower. The one thing which might change this prediction would be an end to winter with a lot of snow.

"If we see snow later in the winter, then hay prices could start to climb," he said.

Longer term, what the 2025 growing season has in store for hay producers will go a long way in determining where hay prices will go during the year.

Helle said a drier growing season will make less hay available and thus hay prices could go higher once again. Another growing season with decent forage production like last year will lead prices to continue to be lower, he said.

Summers said she expects her hay prices will remain steady. Normally they don't have much dry weather in their region of south-central Pennsylvania, but the 2024 growing season certainly was dry.

"It was really strange weather pattern last year," she said.

She also thinks weather will determine where prices will be for her hay business in 2025. Continued dry weather will shrink the supply of available hay, she added.

Easily the two biggest challenges for her business would be volatile weather and high input prices, Summers said.

"But there really is not much we can do about either," Summers said.

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

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Russ Quinn