Iowa Hay Summary

Week Ending  April 20th, 2018

For this week: Hay prices slid slightly lower this week.  However the downward trend in prices was more a reflection of hay quality rather than hay quantity.  Straight alfalfa hay was hard to find as was the supreme quality grade for all hay types.  Straw prices remained firm.  By Wednesday, April 18, cowmen were prepare for the last (hopefully) snow storm of the season by purchasing big round bales of corn stalks to use as bedding for cows that were calving.

A late April snowstorm in IOwa put a damper on temperatures during the midweek, with parts of Iowa seeing more than 6 inches of snow.  However, by the weekend temperatures had warmed into the upper 50s to low 60s across the state.  Snow could still be found in the bottom of roadside ditches and in pastures on north facing slopes.  Producers were anxiously awaiting the fields to dry and soils to warm so that they could begin fieldwork. 


Alfalfa                 Premium  Small Squares          $320.00 - $350.00
                                 Large Squares  $350.00 - $400.00 

Alfalfa/Grass         Premium  Small Squares         $205.00 - $205.00     
     Large Rounds           $219.00 - $250.00
   
   Good  Large Squares  $180.00 - $182.00
                                 Large Rounds  $125.00 - $160.00     


Grass   Good  Large Rounds  $170.00 - $170.00

   
Straw   Oat  Small Squares  $120.00 - $165.00
     Large Squares  $117.00 - $120.00
                                 
       Corn Stalk  Large Rounds           $ 93.75 - $ 93.75 

                     

   
 
Certified Organic Hay: None reported for the week of April 20, 2018.