Central Oregon hay prices are off slightly from what they were last year. But growers are still enjoying a strong market as winter weather nears. So says Scott Pierson, a Silver Lake hay grower and president of the Oregon Hay and Forage Association.
Supreme-quality alfalfa currently sells for $245-260/ton; good-quality, $190-210/ton. Triticale-oat hay is $150-165/ton.
“Prices started off pretty firm this year, then they softened up toward the end of September,” he says. “Now it seems like it’s picked up a bit for us.”
Hay yields were up slightly in Oregon this season, thanks to summer thunderstorms and warmer fall weather, Pierson reports.
“There was a lot of rained-on second cutting in our region. First cutting and third cutting were pretty good, though. We had a lot of people flirting with a fourth cut. They got a good-quality third cutting and, all of a sudden, it warmed up a little bit.”
Pierson grows alfalfa, alfalfa-grass and grass hay on 375 acres. Along with export firms and commercial and specialty dairies, his markets include horse owners and feed stores in Oregon, Washington and California.
He expects hay prices to sneak upward in the next few months, as long as beef and dairy prices stay high.
“Right now, corn prices are low, and that’s an advantage for the big California dairies. But as the dairies start looking for more alfalfa, which they need, it’s going to bring prices up a little bit more. There’s no more making hay now. What’s out there is what we have.”
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