Hay Market Report for the Upper Midwest for November 25, 2025

Nov 28, 2025

By Melissa Jean Ohlrich

About the Hay Market Report:

All data have been compiled by Melissa Ohlrich, Crops and Soils Educator for Clark and Marathon Counties, UW-Madison Division of Extension. 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

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.

Source : wisc.edu

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.