Josh Callen publishes The Hoyt Report, a narrative-style newsletter which tracks forage prices and market trends across the seven Western states. He presented on current trends shaping the U.S alfalfa and grass hay sectors at the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s (CFGA) 16th Annual Conference: Greener Horizons: Technological Innovations in Forage and Grassland Management. The conference took place Nov. 18 to 21 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and was organized in partnership with the New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association (NBSCIA).

Weather, politics and a strong U.S. dollar were the biggest drivers of fluctuating markets for grain and hay exports which around the world are down three per cent. The biggest impact on the market was related to President Donald Trump taking office; his trade war and implementation of tariffs had a negative effect.

“It set the stage for another down year, when everybody was hoping it would be good one,” Josh said. “Global forage prices really peaked in 2022. They’ve been trending lower ever since.”

Weather was also a factor as it impacted quality of hay as weather swung from too wet to too dry and simply poor timing of rain.

Finally, the strong U.S. dollar and the downturn of the dairy markets in China, which saw five per cent decrease in the number of cattle, impacted the pocketbooks of producers.

When it comes to hay exports, Josh said 2025 was better than 2024, which was flat. One bright spot was an increase in exports to Japan which were up by 34 per cent. The U.S. and Japan are the biggest markets which are impacted by the geopolitical uncertainty in the marketplace.

Other highlights in this report looked at the drop of Timothy shipments to Florida related to poorly timed rains in July and August in Southern Alberta in 2025.

Spain continues to grow its position as an exporter and Australia also held its own with a good harvest and strong pricing. West coast hay prices continued the downward trend which started in 2021.

Josh closed his presentation by saying two things to watch for include how trade relationships will adapt to the challenges caused by the U.S. unpredictability and how grain markets will react to new trade deals. Overall, he said he’s optimistic for the coming year.

2025 conference recordings  
Would you like to hear all this presentation? Online access to recordings of all the conference sessions is available for purchase. For more information, email [email protected].

2026 CFGA annual conference

Early bird registration for the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s (CFGA) 17th Annual Conference closes on Aug. 31. This year’s conference takes place Nov. 9 to 12, 2026, at the Best Western Calgary Plaza Hotel in partnership with the Agriculture Research and Extension Council of Alberta (ARECA).

With the theme Canadian Forage Systems: Designing for Durability, this year’s event brings together Canada’s forage and grassland community to explore resilience and long‑term system design. Watch the CFGA website, follow the CFGA on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn or subscribe to the CFGA quarterly newsletter to stay up to date.