Hay cost per ton in Louisiana

Louisiana's hay market is dominated by warm-season grasses, primarily bermudagrass and bahiagrass, which thrive in the state's humid subtropical climate. Producers typically harvest 4-6 cuttings per year between late May and mid-October, with per-ton prices ranging from $140-$200 for good quality bermudagrass delivered within 50 miles of the field, according to the USDA AMS Louisiana Direct Hay Report (2025). Small square bales command a $20-$40 per ton premium over large rounds because of the additional labor required to bale and stack them.

Alfalfa is essentially an import crop in Louisiana. The state's 55-65 inches of annual rainfall and summer humidity make it very difficult to cure alfalfa to the 15-18% moisture window needed for safe baling, so nearly all supreme and premium alfalfa sold in Louisiana is trucked in from Oklahoma, Texas, or Kansas. Delivered prices for premium small-square alfalfa ran $280-$340 per ton in 2025, with supreme dairy-quality hay reaching $360 per ton in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas, per the USDA AMS National Hay, Feed & Seed Weekly Summary (2025).

For a cow-calf operator running a 1,200 lb cow, the practical hay bill works out as follows: at roughly 25 lb of hay per day during the 120-day Louisiana winter feeding window (mid-November through mid-March), a single cow consumes about 3,000 lb, or 1.5 tons of hay per winter. At a mid-range bermudagrass price of $170 per ton, that is approximately $255 per cow per winter in hay cost, not counting waste, which the LSU AgCenter Forage and Hay Production Guide (2024) estimates at 15-30% depending on feeder type. A 100-head herd therefore needs roughly 150 tons of hay and a $25,500-$33,000 winter hay budget before factoring in supplementation.