Hay cost per ton in Colorado

Colorado's hay market splits along the Continental Divide. Irrigated alfalfa from the San Luis Valley, Arkansas Valley, and northeast Colorado dominates volume, with USDA AMS Greeley direct reports in 2025 showing premium alfalfa large squares trading $240-$300 per ton and good grass hay $180-$240 per ton FOB the stack. Western Slope producers around Delta and Montrose typically run $10-$30 per ton below Front Range retail because of proximity to production and lower local demand.

Cutting schedules drive supply timing. Irrigated Colorado alfalfa commonly produces 3-4 cuttings per season per CSU Extension, with first cutting in late May or early June and final cutting in September. Dryland grass hay in eastern Colorado depends heavily on spring rainfall; in dry years when April-June precipitation falls well below the 8-12 inch norm, grass hay tonnage drops sharply and prices on the USDA AMS Colorado report push toward the top of the $240 per ton range for round bales.

For a typical 1,200 lb dry cow eating roughly 25 lb of hay per day through a 120-day Colorado winter feeding window, that's 3,000 lb or 1.5 tons per head. At a midpoint round-bale price of $220 per ton from the 2025 USDA AMS Greeley report, each cow costs about $330 to winter on hay alone, not counting waste (commonly 10-20% with round bales fed without a ring) or protein supplementation. A 200-head cow-calf operation should budget roughly $66,000-$80,000 for winter hay at current Colorado prices.