Lower supplies are putting pressure on hay prices, and that’s likely to continue through the summer given current range and pasture conditions, experts say.

Lee Schulz, assistant professor of economics at Iowa State University, said that Iowa hay prices have posted year-over-year increases since last June. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports the national “all hay” price at $124 per ton in March, up $44 per ton from March 2017.

The Iowa hay summary released June 1 found hay and straw supplies to be “scarce”...