Hay cost per ton in Texas

Texas hay production is dominated by Coastal bermudagrass, which typically yields three to five cuttings per year depending on rainfall, with the first cutting in May and subsequent cuttings every 28-35 days through September. According to USDA AMS Texas Weekly Hay Reports, good-quality Coastal bermuda round bales traded in the $180-$240 per ton range in 2024, while premium alfalfa trucked in from New Mexico and Colorado reached $320-$360 per ton delivered.

Rainfall patterns drive enormous year-to-year swings. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension notes that the 2022-2023 drought cut hay yields across much of the state by 40% or more, pushing round bale prices 30-50% above long-term averages and forcing many cow-calf operators to cull herds. Wetter years like 2024 restored supply and softened the market, particularly in East Texas where Coastal bermuda thrives on 40+ inches of annual rainfall.

For a 1,200 lb beef cow consuming roughly 25 lb of hay per day during a typical 120-day Texas winter feeding window, total consumption runs about 3,000 lb, or 1.5 tons per cow. At the 2024 USDA AMS midpoint of roughly $210 per ton for Coastal round bales, that works out to approximately $315 per cow per winter in hay costs alone, before accounting for waste (typically 15-25% with unrolled round bales) or supplemental protein. A 100-head operation therefore budgets $31,500-$40,000 annually for winter hay in a normal year, and substantially more during drought.