Hay, Rain, Prices

[pasolucy]

They are predicting rain likely tomorrow and we just got 426 bales of hay in the barn. 70 lb bales so that is 14.9 ton of hay. That is more than we need but my daughter takes some and the prices of hay here right now it pays us to put up a little extra and if we have some left we can sell in the spring. We have a new guy putting our hay up this year and he has a bale wagon so all of that hay got into the barn without me touching one bale. We live in the middle of grass seed country and hay has been $65 to $80 around here for years and 80 is considered expensive. This year they are advertising at $120 a ton, that is unheard of. We spent about $500 in fertilizer and did that ourselves. I spray the fields with our Gator, and they guy cut, baled and put it into the barn for $60 a ton. I feel real lucky. About 170 bales are going to have to be moved as they are in the foaling stall but for now it is out of the rain and my daughter should take most of that.

What are the prices per ton where you are, or if you are buying by the bale, how much does the bale weigh? We had such a terrible hay season last year that this spring a 50 lb bale of plain grass hay was $12. Who can afford to feed more than one horse at that price?

[Terri]

Ahhhhh, the cost of hay question again. I think were were just discussing this on this thread. http://www.americanpasofinos.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14502
I put in 400 NY bales at $4.75 per bale and am lucky to get it at that price. The bales are probably 40-50 lbs each, I guess that would be around $220 per ton. The bales felt heavier, but that was cause they were damp off the field. I have been blowing fans on them and keeping doors in the loft open, having nightmares for moldy hay and burning and collasping barns. That is the price of cheaper hay. If I bought it at the grain store it would be $8.25 per bale for about the same size bale. Or if I bought it from a private back-yard dealer it would be $6-$6.50 per. Or off the field local - $4.50.

Hay in upstate NY or VT would go for $2.00 + per bale but then you got to buy gas to get it here. :new confused So what can I say, hay ain't cheep. we must be crazy to own hayburners. :screwy

I think there was another thread about hay alternatives too.

[jodiTowne]

Just paid $1.65 per 40-50# bale of great hay!! I don't think my hay supplier realizes the cost elsewhere....or doesn't care. We have a good relationship and hay is not his income.....milk is. I gave him extra as he brought the hay to my barn off the field. It was nice and dry and green....should be great. Wish I could store more than I do.........

I'll stock up before winter and get a load of 2nd cut......easier for the older horse to eat.

Hay will be going up even here tho. Hay fields are being turned into corn fields. My farrier is going to reseed my land and split the hay from it next year. Yeah!

[Carol Nelson]

Just pray for rain. As you see from my last post...we are getting massive amounts of rainfall here and how things have changed concerning hay prices!! We have hay coming out our ears!
Last price for coastal bermuda I saw was $4.50 a bale in the field. That's only $1 more than it was when we moved here in 2001. The hay producers are calling everyone they know and begging them to come get hay. No one wants to be storing it this winter.
This is exactly as I predicted it would be. Last winter we paid 9.50 to 10.50 for a bale of coastal. Now it appears they can't give it away.
Right here on the farm, we've planted a back ten acres in coastal. I'm hoping to produce enough hay to feed our own horses through the winter. Won't happen this year but maybe next. We're fertilizing and herbiciding this year so by next summer those fields should look nice!
Anyway, so just sit tight and pray for rain...your prices will come down...but be careful what you pray for.... ;-)

[diswick]

Central coast of California prices 2 weeks ago were: alfalfa $13/bale, timothy $18/bale.

The price hasn't changed much which kinda surprises me because the cost of gas is still $3.30/gal or more...

[joeclara]

hay here in central fla is hard to get still. Just bought a few bales tifton for $5 a bale (feed store is $7.50 if they have any, which goes fast). In April I got oat hay from my regular hay guy for $4 a bale and was lucky to get that. My hay guy has no more hay now and most of the others I have contacted say a 3 to 4 more weeks before next cutting and to reserve what we want as it is sold by the time it is cut. We are going to plant our 170 acres this year so we won't have this problem again. Thankfully most of mine are lose on the land now and I only have to feed 9.

[My Pasos]

Round bales here, I can get for 22.00 to 30.00. Square, are a little over 3.00.
I am going to try to get hay from Indiana. There is more & they are a better quality.

I just got a couple of round bails here & they were kinda smaller than usual and full of debris.......whats up with that????? :mad: