Forage Marketing

Forage Market Insights: Navigating the 2025 forage season

marian@agproud.com — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 12:45:31 -0400

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.

Forage Market Insights: Plenty of questions to ponder

dave@agproud.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 14:05:30 -0400

Progressive Forage provides on update on drought conditions, prices, exports and more.DC

Forage Market Insights: Things got cloudier

dave@agproud.com — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Here’s Progressive Forage’s look at factors impacting hay producers and markets as a new year begins.

Forage Market Insights: Moisture conditions improving to start 2025

dave@agproud.com — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Here’s Progressive Forage’s look at factors impacting hay producers and markets as a new year gets underway.

Forage Market Insights: Putting a partial wrap on 2024

dave@agproud.com — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

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.

How do moisture and composition affect feedstuff costs?

jasonwarner@ksu.edu — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

While understanding the impact of feedstuff dry matter is critical for making informed management decisions, we also must consider how differences in nutrient composition, in addition to dry matter, influence feedstuff cost scenarios.

Forage Market Insights: In the swing of summer

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Forage Market Insights: A splashy start to summer

Wed, 15 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Forage Market Insights: 2024 plans taking shape

dave@agproud.com — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

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

Making the best of poor-quality forages

jessepetersen@gpsdairy.com — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Every year, I discuss the importance of high-quality forages with the dairymen I work with. Most years, we see above-average forage value. However, the 2023 crop year brought on some new challenges we hadn’t experienced for quite a while.

You’re thinking about selling carbon credits – what next?

dustin_sawyer@rockriverlab.com — Mon, 15 May 2023 15:40:20 -0400

Carbon sequestration, carbon capture, carbon farming – call it what you will, it all comes down to one concept: We can use plants to convert CO₂ from the atmosphere into physical forms of carbon that are locked away in the soil.

Forage Market Insights: Positive signs for production

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 14:49:24 -0400

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

Forage Market Insights: Spring role reversals

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:53:11 -0400

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

Forage Market Insights: 2023 cropping season coming into view

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 09:45:51 -0500

Forage Market Insights: New year starts with changing conditions

dave@agproud.com — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 13:33:45 -0500

Here’s Progressive Forage’s monthly look at factors impacting hay markets for January 2023.

Forage Market Insights: There’s hay in the manger

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 11:14:13 -0500

Whether buying or selling hay, there’s plenty to unwrap as the calendar year comes to a close.

Forage Market Insights: November 2022

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 13:48:53 -0500

The 2022 hay crop has been made. Those marketing and moving it face plenty of challenges.

Forage Market Insights: Alfalfa exports shatter volume record

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 16:48:56 -0400

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.

Forage Market Insights: Seasonal changes coming

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 15:48:55 -0400

The Western drought sent regional hay prices higher, especially for dairy-quality hay. Demand from China pushed alfalfa exports to an 11-month high, but global sales of other hay continued to slump.

Three steps to increasing profit on your spring annual crop

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 21:22:55 -0500

These three management decisions can help boost your income on your spring annual crop by $50 to $100 per acre.

How much is a forage worth to a dairy cow?

weiss.6@osu.edu — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 19:11:46 -0400

One factor to consider when determining the price dairy farmers should pay for a forage is the ability of the forage to support milk production.

The modern hay market

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 05:12:11 -0400

Like the rest of agribusiness, hay commerce has been touched by digitalization – specifically the internet. More frequently, we see buyers and sellers meeting over platforms like Craigslist and even Facebook as opposed to the traditional local classifieds.

Forage Market Insights: Moisture, shipping challenges extend into spring

dave@agproud.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:29:50 -0500

Planning your next silage season

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 14:00:01 -0500

It always pays to plan ahead for the next crop season. Steven Hines, University of Idaho extension educator for Jerome County, says things a producer needs to think about during winter include maintaining machinery, such as the corn planter.

Hay marketing 101

clacy@uga.edu — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:00:00 -0400

The common lament among many agricultural producers is that they can do a great job of producing a product but aren’t that great at marketing it.

Pricing standing hay

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:25:26 -0400

What is standing hay worth, and what is a fair price? The price of standing hay is what the market determines it is, not necessarily what we think it should be.