“The market sometimes, or at least now, feels like we've gone from good, to difficult, to different. And I think one of the most significant things about the current hay market right now is that things are very different,” market analyst and hay exporter Scott Courtright told attendees at the California Alfalfa and Forage Symposium.

Josh Callen, market analyst and publisher of The Hoyt Report, gave attendees at the California Alfalfa and Forage Symposium an update on hay markets in the western U.S.

Larger harvests are impacting dry hay markets in many regions as 2024 comes to a close. On-farm hay inventories, new seeding estimates and production summaries for all forage crops will provide a clearer picture in early January.

A slight increase in hay acreage and yield-boosting moisture conditions in some regions provide hope for increased forage production in 2023.

Moisture conditions are improving, but hay exports and milk prices are weakening, with a likely impact on demand.