The most striking factors driving hay markets are related to alfalfa exports, domestic prices for dairy-quality hay and an early start to the supplemental feeding season in drought areas.

June 2022 “mailbox” prices averaged about $1.03 per hundredweight (cwt) less than announced average “all-milk” prices for the same month.

Drought and pasture conditions have improved from the previous month, but the situation is still very poor compared to last year and previous years. 

Month after month this year, feedlots have maintained large numbers of cattle on feed relative to history as more calves are being pushed into feedlots at a quicker-than-normal pace due to the drought impact on forage availability.

August 2021-22 recap at a glance

The USDA’s monthly World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates and Crop Production reports provide price, cost forecasts.

Elevated whey and lactose sales provided a boost to July’s global marketing volumes and values.

The U.S. beef export market has shown that it will continue to expand, even if export access is lost to key countries.

Milk prices declined and feed costs continued to rise in July, cutting into monthly dairy producer milk income over feed cost margins calculated under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.