MONTICELLO - By the bale or by the ton, hay sold at record prices, up to $255 a ton, at a special auction Friday, July 27 in Monticello.

More than 100 potential bidders showed up at B&M Auctions' emergency hay auction, willing to pay up to three times higher than normal prices for 21 loads of hay. Drought conditions throughout southern Wisconsin have damaged crops, leaving many farmers short on hay for their cattle.

Auctioneer Jim McNeill confirmed the record prices and said the sale was needed "because a lot of people want hay." Those who have hay will keep it "safely stored" rather than sell it, he added.

"I was surprised by the amount of hay," he said. "I expected this crowd. I've had an awful lot of interest in buying hay."

McNeill had hoped to get 10 loads of hay for the auction. The 21 loads that came in ranged from as little as five round bales on a trailer to 5 tons on a semi.

McNeill had no consignments for the auction. The one consignment he did have fell through that morning, when the seller called to say he had to sell it to a neighbor begging to buy it.

"He said he had to help his neighbor first," McNeill said.

Because so many people showed up Friday, B&M Auctions is scheduling another emergency hay sale for Friday, Aug. 10, in addition to the Friday, Aug. 24 sale, that was previously scheduled.

"Obviously, the interest is there," McNeill said.

Good prices for sellers meant anxiety for buyers, some of whom came from as far as Janesville and Caledonia, Ill.

"It's the dairy farmers who are hurting right now, "said John Rupnow, Monroe, who handles about 100 head of Jersey cattle. "We're the ones short on hay, and we have to pay these high prices (to stay in business)."

Rupnow tried bidding on several loads at the auction, only to drop out when the price got too high for him. He eventually paid up to $120 a bale, which he normally buys at $45-50 each. The large square bales he bought weigh about 850 pounds each, he said.

Shelly Ingold, Monroe, runs about 120 head of dairy cattle. Dairy farmers are looking for high protein alfalfa hay, with lots of leafy green, she said. And they are competing against horse owners, who are also hurting for hay. Ingold bought 17 rounds bales and also 5 tons of hay.

Both farmers said the lower-end cattle that they've already culled and sold off bought good prices, but now the market is starting to flood and cattle prices are going down. And they're both praying for more rain.

"Regular rains," Rupnow added.

Dan Pakes, Janesville, looking to buy, made the trip to Monticello for naught.

"Couldn't complete," he said. "I'm going home empty-handed."

McNeill had a hard time getting bidders to make $5 jumps in their bids. Most of them squirmed at $2.50 jumps.

The highest bid, $255 per ton, came on a 5-ton lot of 80 percent, second-cutting alfalfa. Four tons of swamp grass brought $160 a ton. A hundred little square bales of second-crop alfalfa couldn't get more than $5.50 each. Averaging around $100 for large round bales, prices rocked between $90 a bale for grassy first-crop alfalfa and $125 a bale for second-crop, almost pure alfalfa.

Lyle Fischer, Blanchardville, brought in just five large bales of second-cutting alfalfa from his farm near Argyle, about 16 miles from the auction.

"I wanted to see what the market was doing," he said, "and put a little change in my pocket."

His 8-foot long, 800-pound, square bales got him $112.50 each, and he offered to deliver within 10 miles for free.

Fischer has sold a lot of hay in past years, he said. This year he has "more than enough feed" for his herd of 40 beef cattle "because I'll be making more than enough corn silage out of this 'wonderful' corn crop we got this year," he added.

Bill Anderson, Monticello, sold 10 bales of second-cutting alfalfa, just to make room in his hay barn. "It was enough for today," he said. He planted about 30 percent more corn this year, which won't bear out the yields he was hoping for. But he also rented an additional 60 acres for hay this year.

But in his estimation, "prices could have been better," at the auction Friday. He said hay was selling near Cobb, at $175 a large square bale.

Those who are still hanging on to excess hay may be looking to make up for loses on their corn; the consensus among sellers, buyers and auctioneers is that hay prices are only going to get higher.