The average price for alfalfa hay during April rose an impressive $19 per ton from March and settled at $185, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Prices report. It has taken a while, but the average price finally has broken out of the $160 to $170 doldrums. The April 2026 price was $5 above a year ago. Historically, monthly average hay prices peak during April or May.
The April grass hay price wasn’t quite as fortunate; it dropped by $5 per ton from the previous month. The average price for grass hay in April posted at $133 per ton, which was $7 under the price from a year ago.
The price paid for Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay during April improved by $4 per ton to $234. During late spring, high-quality hay is more difficult to find.
Three states posted double-digit price improvements from April to April. Utah and Wyoming posted $15 jumps, while Montana was up by $10.
There were no states that had a double-digit hay price decline.
The highest average April alfalfa hay price was reported in Pennsylvania at $268 per ton. New Mexico and New York followed at $255, while Kentucky posted a $245 per ton average price.
North Dakota had the lowest average alfalfa price at $95 per ton. It was followed by South Dakota at $98 and Nebraska at $102 per ton.
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.
During April, the average price of Supreme and Premium alfalfa hay rose by $4 per ton, posting at $234. The average high-quality alfalfa hay price was still $18 per ton lower than a year ago.
Other hay
The April average price of other hay was reported at $133 per ton, which was down $5 from the previous month and $7 lower than April 2025.
The highest April price for hay other than alfalfa was reported in New Mexico at $215 per ton. Pennsylvania and Washington followed at $200, while California and Oregon posted a $195 per ton price.
North Dakota had the lowest reported other hay average price at $68 per ton. It was followed by Oklahoma at $80 per ton.
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