Hay prices remain weak out West

Last year marked the third year of the hay market downturn across the country. In the Western states, Josh Callen explained how shifting dynamics throughout the region and overseas have kept hay prices from coming up for air after being suffocated since 2023.

At last week’s Northwest Hay Expo in Kennewick, Wash., the author of The Hoyt Report admitted he thought 2025 was going to be a recalibration year with better hay prices on the horizon. That seemed to be the case in early spring until the trade war with China broke out in April. Callen suggested the hit to U.S. hay exports was a defining market factor for Western producers, along with dwindling demand from domestic dairy farms and unfavorable weather patterns.

Poor export demand. Through October, U.S. hay exports to all trade partners in 2025 were down 12%. Hay exports to China took a larger hit, down 25%, with the majority of that hay being alfalfa. Callen said the series of events in the trade war with China were reflected in Western hay prices as export sales can be a big contributor to farmers’ bottom lines.

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Jan 27, 2026

hayandforage.com