# Wide swings in hay market - East (good), Colorado (bad)



## lcjaynes (Jul 25, 2014)

http://www.progressiveforage.com/news/hay-market-reports/wide-swings-in-hay-prices-update-january-2016


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I question the accuracy of the reports. While I agree (based upon prices mentioned on this site from various locales) that the Midwest is probably in a class-by-themselves, I don't agree the the $88 "other" hay or the $164 Alfalfa hay.

Recently, Mr Moses posted auction results which were in contrast (about 2x the price) for alfalfa (if I recollect the figures correctly...I'm too lazy to go back and look).

I have had no problem selling my "other" hay for their stated alfalfa prices (2x graph figures).

73, Mark


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

glasswrongsize said:


> I question the accuracy of the reports. While I agree (based upon prices mentioned on this site from various locales) that the Midwest is probably in a class-by-themselves, I don't agree the the $88 "other" hay or the $164 Alfalfa hay.
> 
> Recently, Mr Moses posted auction results which were in contrast (about 2x the price) for alfalfa (if I recollect the figures correctly...I'm too lazy to go back and look).
> 
> ...


most Midwest hay is either round baled or lg sq for cattle and not put up as a specialty crop for horses.Most horse people here realize horses and cattle hay are the same thing and there fore not pay a premium for labeling it as horse hay.Dairy hay,calf hay,sheep hay are terms used here for the best hay and is in more demand then horse hay although it's the same thing.

Other Hay,I don't know why the writer is calling it that,the more common term here is grinding hay.It can be ditch hay,water way hay,slew hay,lowland hay.Or just alfalfa hay that was late cut or rain damaged.


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## haygrl59 (May 19, 2014)

Our operation does small squares and our main market is mostly horse people with goat and sheep folks second. The hay prices are all over the place at the auctions. When people call and ask if the hay is "horse hay", I will say yes it is because we have customers that have horses that buy it. I monitor a lot of hay markets across the U.S. so I can get a feel for what is going on. There definitely are areas of excess hay/low prices and other areas of low hay/high prices. We have kept our prices pretty consistent but the boss will have a "hay sale" and temporarily lower the prices a bit to clear out the barn faster. We are thankful that we are steadily selling hay but wishing that it would sell out faster. A lot of people in our area over-grazed their pastures last fall (due to the mild weather) and I think there will still be a good demand for hay through April.

The hay market is very persnickety and one has to learn to ride the waves, pretty much like most things in agriculture. Sometimes there just isn't any rhyme or reason why things happen the way they do. No sense banging one's head trying to figure it out, just keep trudging along.


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