Hay cost per ton in Idaho

Idaho is consistently one of the top three alfalfa hay producing states in the country, and USDA AMS Moses Lake reporting in 2024-2025 placed Premium large-square alfalfa in the $220-$250 per ton range with Supreme dairy-quality lots trading $240-$260 per ton FOB the stack. Grass hay out of the Camas Prairie and northern Idaho typically ran $140-$190 per ton for large bales over the same window, reflecting steady cow-calf and horse demand but softer export pull than alfalfa.

Growing conditions shape the price curve. Southern Idaho's irrigated Magic and Treasure Valleys generally take three to four cuttings per season, while dryland and higher-elevation grass hay ground in the north and east depends on spring and early summer rainfall and usually yields one to two cuttings. University of Idaho Extension notes that first cutting carries the highest rain-damage risk, which is why rained-on first-cut alfalfa often discounts $30-$60 per ton versus clean second or third cutting of the same test.

For a rancher running 1200 lb cows, the standard winter intake assumption is roughly 25 lb of hay per head per day, or about 0.75 ton per cow over a 60-day feeding window and roughly 1.5 tons over a 120-day Idaho winter. At the 2024-2025 Idaho grass hay midpoint of about $165 per ton, that pencils out to roughly $124 per cow for a 60-day feed period and about $248 per cow across a full 120-day winter; substituting Premium alfalfa at $235 per ton pushes the 120-day bill to roughly $353 per cow, which is why most Idaho cow-calf operators blend grass hay with only as much alfalfa as their protein and body-condition targets require.