Hay cost per ton in Michigan

Michigan producers typically take three cuttings of alfalfa per season, with a possible fourth in the southern Lower Peninsula. First cutting usually falls in late May to mid-June, and USDA AMS Michigan Weekly Hay Reports in 2024-2025 consistently priced premium small-square alfalfa between $240 and $310 per ton, while large round grass bales traded between $185 and $245 per ton at Clare and St. Louis auctions.

Rainfall is the single biggest price driver. Michigan averages around 32-36 inches per year, and wet Junes routinely delay first cutting and drop quality a grade, pushing supreme dairy hay toward the top of the $260-$340 per ton band reported by USDA AMS in 2025. MSU Extension's 2024 forage updates noted that rain-damaged first cutting in parts of the state tightened premium supply heading into winter.

For a 1,200 lb beef cow eating roughly 25 lb of hay per day across a 150-day Michigan winter, total consumption is about 3,750 lb, or 1.875 tons. At the midpoint round-bale price of $215 per ton from the 2025 USDA AMS Michigan report, that is about $403 per cow per winter; at premium alfalfa pricing near $300 per ton it climbs to roughly $563 per cow, which is why most cow-calf operators in the state winter on grass or mixed hay rather than dairy-quality alfalfa.