After skyrocketing in early July, hay prices in Saskatchewan are no longer at astronomical levels.
The spring drought in the western Prairies pushed online hay prices to record or near record levels in many regions the first few weeks of July.
Sellers were asking $150 to $250 a ton for baled forage, depending on quality.
Trevor Lennox, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s forage specialist in Swift Current, said the hay market is much softer now, particularly in western Saskatchewan.
“I’m not seeing the hay really move at those (high) prices (anymore),” he said. “A month and a half or two months ago … it was…. There will still be a shortage in some regions … but the demand seen in late June and early July has certainly lessened.”
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Lennox said 150 to 200 milli-metres of rain have fallen in most of western Saskatchewan since the middle of July. The moisture stimulated re-growth, and many producers in the region achieved decent hay yields in August.
“Not only on the hayland but on the annual cropland, there’s lots of regrowth,” he said. “I talked to a producer this morning (Sept. 28) and he took a second cut on his greenfeed, which is very rare.”
Jim Chaplin, a rancher and hay producer from Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., said online prices may have been high early in the summer but few hay buyers actually paid the premium.
“I think there were a lot of guys thinking they were going to sell their product at an exorbitant amount,” he said. “I don’t think they (were) getting it.”
Chaplin said he typically sells hay at five cents per lb., or $100 per ton.
“There are areas in southern Alberta where there are shortages … there are areas in southern Sask-atchewan where there are shortages, but I’m (priced) at five cents a lb., where I’ve always been,” he said. “I don’t think I’m out of line.”
Neil MacDonald, who runs a custom grazing operation and raises cattle near Rockglen, Sask., agreed that hay prices may have been strong in early July but sales were weak.
“Historically, early in the year everybody has their hay (price) up fairly high. Just because it’s advertised for a certain price doesn’t necessarily mean that’s exactly what it’s trading for,” he said.
“Talking with a number of people … from what I can gather there wasn’t a huge amount of hay that actually traded hands…. I believe there was hay that maybe traded as high as $190, in that range, (but) with hay prices that high … there were a lot of people that held off to see what this cattle market was really going to do.”
MacDonald said producers faced with a hay shortage could opt for pellets or the greenfeed market.
Online postings in Alberta and Saskatchewan suggest a fair amount of oat and wheat greenfeed is available.
Chaplin agreed that cattle producers won’t pay a premium for hay when other options are available.
“My son runs a big ranch up in Chamberlain, (Sask.). They’re doing greenfeed and straw, and they will manage with that,” he said.
Lennox said greenfeed will allow producers to stretch their hay supply, but prices for alfalfa and other sources of feed will likely remain above average in Saskatchewan.
“We’re definitely going to see more demand for the bottom end feed this year … lentil straw or cereal straw.”
