Hay Market Demand And Price Report For The Upper Midwest As Of January 23, 2017

Jan 24, 2017

Demand and Sales Activity

Overall the market wa s steady this week. Markets are back to normal following the December holiday season. This week small square bale hay influenced the top of the market while a large supply o f lo wer quality hay has produce a wi de spread in prices from prime hay to grade 3 hay

For Nebraska , demand is picking up; prices were steady this week as ranchers are purchasing hay instead of range cubes for freshened cows . Dairy quality hay is slow to mov e .

For Iowa , supply is adequate while d emand was slow with poor weather , but prices have remained steady. In South Dakota , all classes of hay sol d $20.00 weak er with m oderate d emand and few r eported sales . Bedding material was in demand with the weather conditions .

In I llinois , the trade was active with moderate to poor demand on large offerings of hay . For Missouri, very little hay moving this week as fence rows are full of hay bales . There is a s upply of hay with lig h t demand and steady prices.

In Southwest Minnesota, g rade 1 or lower quality was available and low quality hay was discounted. In Wisconsin , hay p rice s were steady with little demand and lower quality hay discounted with large supplies . The straw market was steady with little movement in prices .

Small square bale straw price increase d about $0.30 per bale a veraging $ 2 . 8 0 a bale this week (range of $ 1 . 0 0 to $ 6.00 ) . Large square bale price declined $6.00 per bale with an ave rag e price of $ 3 0 . 0 0 per bale (range of $ 1 0 . 00 to $ 5 0 .00) . L arge round bale s were $ 1 .00 higher the last report at $ 3 3 .00 per bale (range of $ 2 0 .00 to $ 5 5 .00) . Some m arkets did men tion a demand for bedding material s this week . T he next Hay Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest will be posted on Monday , February 13 , 201 7 .

Source:uwex.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.