Demand and Sales Activity
Moderate t emperatures this past month ha s been friendly to cattle producers . H ay supplies at auction w ere good , but demand w as light . Overall the s mall square bale price dec reased this week with an increase of lower quality alfalfa hay being av ailable . La rge square bale prices increased slightly as premium quality alfalfa demands a good price. L arge round bale prices were down 8% across all quality hay class e s with increased sales of m edium to lower quality hay .
Summing up the markets, s ales activity was light , supplies were good, quality hay sold for a good price , and increase d sales of lower quality hay decreased overall price of alfalfa hay .
For Nebraska , comp ared to the last report alfalfa hay sold unevenly steady . For Iowa , alfalfa hay trended steady to $5.00/ton higher, with premium to good quality of hay making up 48% of the volume .
In South Dakota , light reported volume this we ek with steady prices . Hay demand is light , but hay producers are resisting lower ing prices.
For Missouri , farmers have good hay supplies on farm, which has contributed to light sales . Several new hay s el lers are trying to market their hay to prevent a co nsidera ble carryover.
In Southwest Minnesota , no premium quality hay was offered, but good qu ality hay was available with prices stronger compared to the last report .
For Illinois , demand was moderate with heavy hay offerings and weak prices compared to last week.
In Wisconsin, hay prices improved for the second week in a row with majority of sales of fair and good quality large packaged bales . Overall s traw pric es in the Midwest were slightly weaker this week, the exception was small square bales that averaged $ 3 . 1 5 per bale (range of $ 2 . 1 0 to $ 5.00 ); $ 33 . 6 0 per large square bale (range of $ 2 3 .00 to $ 51 .00 ) ; and $ 3 3 . 80 per large round bale (range of $ 2 6 . 0 0 to $ 51 . 0 0 ).
Source:uwex.edu
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