Hay Market Report for the Upper Midwest for January 7th, 2025

Jan 07, 2025

By Becky Brathal

About the Hay Market Report:

All data have been compiled by Jason Cavadini, Grazing Outreach Specialist, UW-Madison Division of Extension and Becky Brathal, Regional Crops/Soils Educator. Prices are reported for alfalfa hay and grass hay. Alfalfa hay may include alfalfa/grass mix.

All values are compiled from public and private quality tested sales through Wisconsin and the Midwest and reported on the first and third weeks of each month. All prices are reported on an as-fed basis, and not on a dry matter basis.

Previous hay reports are archived here. There will not be a Hay Report for August 6th, 2024 or November 12th, 2024.

Note about the values:

Where the table is blank, no sales were reported. In some cases, only sale averages were reported and min/max values were not included. All values in the table represent the average of all values reported; i.e., “maximum” is the average of all maximum values reported, “minimum” is the average of all minimum values reported, and “average” is the average of all average values reported. So, the “average” in the table is often not the mathematical average of the range in the table.

Crops

Source : wisc.edu

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.