Feed prices pressure dairies
US - The hay market has seen prices rise, but with the surge in corn prices, hay remains a cheaper feedstuff. Still, some farmers are finding themselves culling their herds due to higher feed prices, particularly dairymen.
25 January 2007
1 minute read
Paul McGill, owner of Rock Valley Hay Auction, said the hay market has been a lot higher all year, but has tapered off a bit recently.
“It’s due to the nice winter we had until Christmas,” McGill said. “The weather helped supplies last a lot longer than they would’ve. Grass hay is almost selling better than alfalfa right now.”
Steve Barnhart, forages specialist at Iowa State, said summer prices are often a bit lower than winter prices, but Iowa’s winter prices are slightly higher than the past year. Shipments of hay to other drier states haven’t helped the supply situation and pricing, either.
“Winter prices often increase toward late winter, particularly for high quality hay that is usually in shortest supply,”î he said. “All summer in 2006, reports from Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska ‘hay markets’ indicated that more high quality hay was being shipped to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas in response to their dry conditions. The Nebraska prices seem to indicate that has taken some supply out of the local market, and the option of alternate markets for the same hay, both of which are influencing local prices.”
Source: FarmNews
