Expert: Idaho hay prices low until dairy market rebounds

BURLEY, Idaho – Experts say hay prices are down in Idaho due to low milk prices that are depressing the market.

Steve Hines, the University of Idaho Extension educator for Jerome County, told the Capital Press that the state has carried over a lot of hay in recent years.

Premium alfalfa hay in Idaho sold for $125 a ton last week. That compares to $187 in the Columbia Basin and $210 in northern California.

Hines said he doesn’t see prices going up in Idaho until supplies go down.

But he said the dairy market is also down, making it difficult for hay prices to rise.