How much does hay price vary by year and quality?
Wisconsin hay prices vary greatly from year to year based on supply and demand. Years with wide spread drought cause hay prices to escalate dramatically. Regardless of what a bale of average quality hay goes for, as the quality goes up so does what livestock producers are willing to pay for it. In general, for every point in Relative Feed Value (RFV) above 100 the prices goes up around $0.95. In other words, if an RFV of 100 hay is going for $70 per ton, an RFV of 140 hay would likely command a price of $110 per ton. A paper written by Extension Dairy Specialist Roger Palmer explains this and other things to consider in establishing a price for forages.
