The grade gap
Top-grade alfalfa hit $500/ton in the drought West this week. Good-grade alfalfa sold for $75 in Kansas. Different cuttings, opposite ends of the country, and that spread is the market right now: the West is paying up for tight, high-quality supply while the Midwest and Plains stay loose and cheap.
National snapshot
Alfalfa, Good / large round, the most comparable point across markets (chart above).
Highest verified sales: Colorado-NE and Montana premium alfalfa at $500, Colorado timothy $488, Arizona $483.
Regional context
Midwest (IA / MN / SD) · median $175 · range $129-295 · supply comfortable.
Plains (NE / KS) · median $185 · Nebraska good supply, Kansas moderate.
Mountain West (CO / MT / WY / UT) · median $310 · Utah and Montana drought-locked, Wyoming sold out of 2025 crop.
Southwest (AZ / NM / TX) · median $300 · premium Western market.
What this means
Two markets under one name. In the Midwest and Plains, buyers have time. Supply is comfortable and "Good" is being applied loosely across lots, so the same grade can swing $100/ton between sales. Out West, supply is genuinely tight. The high prints aren't the going rate; they're where quality and drought meet.
Our track record
Two weeks ago we called Premium/Supreme alfalfa to hold above $200/ton at Rock Valley through June 15. It's printing $230-295. Every call is dated, logged, and graded in public, win or lose. First grade posts Monday.
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