Depending on your geography, the 2025 forage season is underway. Regardless of where you crop, questions regarding ag and trade policies, input costs, labor, planting, production and prices are front and center. Here’s a review of what we know about hay and forage markets as you continue to look for answers.

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.

The summer is in full swing and so is the next season of alfalfa. With corn in the ground and emerging, producers are chomping at the bit to get last year's crop sold and out of the barns to make room for this year's crop.

With the new crop of hay being harvested, producers are in a panic trying to sell hay from the last hay season to make room as we dive into the 2024 crop. Take a closer look at what prices and conditions in each region in the Progressive Forage Forage Market Insights column as of May 14, 2024. 

Here’s Progressive Forage’s monthly look at factors impacting hay markets across the U.S.