Retreating another $3 per ton, the average price for alfalfa hay settled at $161 in January, which is the lowest such price recorded since February 2018 and $41 per ton behind one year ago. Data from the USDA’s Agricultural Prices report pegged the price of January hay other than alfalfa (grass) at $140 per ton, down $5 from the previous month. This was the lowest average monthly price since June 2021, which also averaged $140.
In contrast to the average alfalfa price, the price paid for Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay during January rose by $12 per ton to $242.
Six states had a double-digit month-over-month alfalfa price gains during January. Pennsylvania was $13 per ton higher and was followed by New York with an $11 boost. Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming were all up by $10 per ton.
Six states also had double-digit declines in average alfalfa price. Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada, Nebraska, Montana, and California all dropped $10 per ton.
The highest average January alfalfa hay price was reported in Pennsylvania at $263 per ton. It was followed by neighboring New York, posting a price of $246, while California checked in at $240 per ton.
Once again, North Dakota had the lowest average alfalfa price at $90 per ton. It was followed by South Dakota at $105 and Nebraska at $115.
Keep in mind that USDA average prices account for all qualities and bale types of hay sold. Also, the final U.S. estimate is a volume-weighted average rather than a simple average of state values. Those states with the most volume sales will impact the final U.S. dollar value more than those states with fewer sales.
Supreme and Premium
The USDA also tracks the prices of Supreme and Premium quality alfalfa in the major dairy states and determines an average price from the five top milk-producing states (California, Idaho, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin). This data is used to determine feed prices in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.
For January, the average price of Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay rose by $12 per ton to $242, which was still $32 per ton lower than a year ago.
Other hay
The January average price of other hay dropped by $5 per ton to $140. This was still $34 per ton lower than the previous year.
The highest January price for hay other than alfalfa was reported in Oregon at $215 per ton. California and Washington checked in at $200 per ton and were followed by Kentucky at $180.
North Dakota had the lowest reported other hay average price at $70 per ton. It was followed by Minnesota at $72 per ton.
No comments:
Post a Comment