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Discussion on Problem buying hay this year
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 3:33 pm:
I'm really worried right now b/c my hay guy is charging $6/bale and I'm not sure if I'll be able to buy all of the hay that I need for the winter from him. I think that I'm going to need to save for a while again to buy hay later in the season from another supplier. Am I putting my horses at great risk by not buying all of my hay from the same supplier?
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 4:58 pm:
Hi Angela I see you are from Il also. The hay is going to be in very short supply this year I think.
If the hay is of good quality you shouldn't have a problem as long as you mix it with the hay they are getting so they get use to it. I switch hay and suppliers all the time, I got this yrs. hay from 3 different guys and it's all a little different.
If I had to pay $6 a bale I would faint! I got mine for an average of about $2.50 and that about broke the bank
I have a feeling hay prices are going to keep climbing, so I wouldn't wait too long.
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Member:
babychop
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 5:17 pm:
$6 a bale? Try $19 a bale in sunny Southern California. It's killing me! Want to ship me some of yours??? 
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 5:26 pm:
I was going to say $6 a bale ain't bad.. you beat me to it Andrea.. all tho, how heavy are their bales.. ? I know here in N.Ca we pay average $15.00 for a 100 pound bale of grassy/alfalfa.. Hay is expensive all over , so are my groceries .. 
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 5:54 pm:
That's right Ann I guess the best way to price hay is per ton. I got some #90 bales for 2.75. I also got some 40# bales for anywhere from $2.00 from one guy and $3.00 from another and I see it is now being advertised...though there is hardly any being listed for sale for $4.00-$6.00 for 40 pound bale.
Here in farm country it is usually over abundant, not this year between the ice this winter (winter kill) and the flooding all spring and summer good quality hay is hard to find. Heck my husband can't even find any for his beef cows and that doesn't have to be of great quality, kinda scary.
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 6:07 pm:
Diane its not just kind of scary , the whole economy is VERY SCARY right now..  I know we have altered our summer habits this year and have taken our yearly Mexico vacation off the books.. Its not feeling good all over right now .. Hay is a big deal but in the scheme of things .. our way of life is being changed..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 17, 2008 - 8:27 pm:
I ordered my hay at $3/bale, never paid that much in my life. Now I've seen it advertised for $2.50 and $2.75, but I don't know who these suppliers are. I am getting it delivered for the price of the hauling, not too bad. I am hoping I can get 600 bales in the barn, just in case next spring is crappy.
Ya, the economy! What to do? Can't hardly afford to feed the horses, dogs, cats, ourselves, and can't even give the critters away. I heard on the news that prices have risen more this year than they have in the last 30 years. Contractors aren't building homes, sitting with materials bought, people scared to commit to new morgages. (I have no idea why I am drawing a complete blank on how to spell that!)
What makes me mad; now they are talking about lets go back to the 55 MPH speed limit. Well, hello, how many years have they had to come up with super gas effecient cars and how is that going btw? And day light savings time, that was supposed to save sooo much energy too. Geesh.
Angela,
Great name btw, lol!! Have you checked for other suppliers? It's good to have a few names in your book and buy from more than one. Maybe if you've been a regular with the current guy, he'll agree to keep some for you, but normally they charge more if it's been handled to be put in the barn and stored.
I plan on feeding less this year too..that is always a plan!
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 - 10:21 am:
My other supplier is actually been the local Ag auction, but I do have a friend looking into another source for me. I live just north of STL in Illinois and it seems like around here the growing season has been phenomenal. Of course, those farmers that use riverbottom land have not been so lucky this year, but those of us uphill have seen perfect growing conditions. i would think that this would create a bumper crop and maybe increase supplies, maybe decrease prices a little. i know there are other factors that play a role also like fertilizer. My hay guy also supplies the Anheuser Busch Clydsedales at the Brewery. They get 600 bales/month. I'm gign to be luck if I can afford 200.
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Member:
rorien
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Posted on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 - 3:15 pm:
I just put 200 bales in the barn, well about a month ago, and she charged me $7 a bale. I still need to get another 100, and then I'll be good for a whole year. I had actually budgeted hay prices to be about $7 a bale, and looks like I'll come in right on budget, but it's still sooo expensive!
$3 a bale hay would be heaven! Where abouts do you live, Angie, may I ask?
Nicole
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Member:
cspanhel
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 - 11:50 am:
I just paid $7.75/coastal squares delivered and put up in central texas, and i count myself lucky. it's over $10/bale at the feed stores.. cynthia
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 - 1:40 pm:
We live in an area of large hay growers, mostly alfalfa. Hay is currently $210 to $220 a ton locally. Most growers are shipping to California and Las Vegas where people are paying up to $18 per 100lb. bale. It will be up to $300 by fall, or so one of the growers told me. Some farmers aren't selling until then, but most of the larger farms pre-sold to buyers in the spring and it's the buyers making the extra money. They'll push it up to whatever they can get and sell it at the highest paying market. Some are adding a fuel surcharge on top of the cost; others have upped their delivery price. The prices above don't include delivery.
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Monday, Jul 21, 2008 - 10:16 am:
I live in Godfrey, IL. It's been hot here lately, but we're definitely not in DrOught conditions here yet. I feel sorry for those horses that are going to starve b/c they banned slaughter. I am not crazy about the idea of slaughtering horses, but there are going to be a lot of abandoned and neglected horses with theses prices. Unfortunately
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Monday, Jul 21, 2008 - 6:20 pm:
Angela, I have been buying from two different farmers for years now. I figure one or the other will stay in business. A lot of them won't sell to new customers, or they charge them more.
One thing you might try: I get a few round bales of really nice stuff. I keep it in the barn with the square bales and "peel off" their portion for the meal. Very easy to do. I save about 50% by buying round bales. One round bale=about 15 squares, but costs the same as about 8.
I use the square bales for trailer, etc. and for the later part of the season because its easier to deal with if I have to move it.
I do feel silly buying hay. I am mowing, mowing, mowing and wasting diesel doing it, while I buy someone else's mowed hay!
Erika
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Member:
hpyhaulr
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008 - 11:41 am:
Here in SC, I was just finishing evening chores and chastising myself that I did not make a pick up date with the farm manager at my Hay guy's place when a truck hauling a small trailer half loaded with kickers pulls in my driveway wondering if I would like to buy some $5 bales and he will deliver tonight as he just baled today and is worried about rain. I took what he had with him and a half hour later he was back with his whole family (including his kids and mother) to deliver enough to fill my hay storage. Apparently I have a very efficient Guardian Angel who seems to also enjoy my horses and looking out for them as well. When I got into horses a few years back, I was paying $2.75-3.00 a bale/ $15 for round bales. Sadly, we can no longer find round bales here in horse quality, only cow quality. That WAS a LOT cheaper, a bit messier and more labor intensive, but well worth it. 2 years ago the farmers here literally took their round bales and had their 'hands' rebale them into pricier kickers. I was crushed. THe bar has been lowered to the level where we are just grateful to have decent bc hay at any price.
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008 - 11:49 am:
Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have hay down at the moment and the weather is dodgy... Hope to bale Thursday afternoon... Last year hay was 3 euros/small square bale here on average.
Imogen
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008 - 3:16 pm:
You can have my sun, everything starts to dry out, and all the hay I need for winter is in a shed , excellent quality and 1 euro a small bale!
Jos
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Friday, Jul 25, 2008 - 9:15 am:
Thanks Jos, we got it and managed to get the hay saved! It can rain all it wants now, I don't mind!
All the best
Imogen
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Friday, Jul 25, 2008 - 12:53 pm:
I always feel so RICH when the new hay is safe! Nobody will go hungry this winter.[ridiculous ofcourse the horses would be very angry if winter brought only hay ]
Jos
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Friday, Jul 25, 2008 - 6:57 pm:
I guess you are rich if you have hay. In just the last couple of weeks it has skyrocketed around here and is now going $250/ton for either grass or alfalfa, and that's not delivered! We are now getting into a rainy period and we're keeping a wary eye on the weather. We cut our second cutting yesterday. I sure hope we get it baled and up before it rains again!
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 26, 2008 - 3:30 am:
How many tons do you need for one horse?
Jos
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 26, 2008 - 11:12 am:
I once read that for figuring purposes you figure on feeding 18 lbs. per day per horse. So, that would be roughly 3.25 tons per horse per year.
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 26, 2008 - 11:48 pm:
Oh man, Sara, I wish you luck with your second cutting. Here in NJ, we're dry, dry. dry. We get huge bands of rain coming into the state, but once it hits our eastern border, it tends to break up into little isolated storms that do us no good at all. Right now, our hayfields are crispy.....nothing happening there. We've sold off most of our first cutting, and our second cutting is promised....except, right now, I have grave doubts that there will BE a second cutting. Maybe hurricane season will give us a helping hand........
You know, I love haying....I don't mind handling the small square bales - it keeps me in shape...And I LOVE running the machines- the haybine, the tedder, the rakes, and the baler...And I love the smell of freshly baled hay in my barn....BUT I HATE MOTHER NATURE!!!!
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 - 12:14 am:
It poured for two days after our neighbor cut; but so far we have lucked out. There have been storms all around us, but we've only gotten one light rain, which in this climate, one be a problem. We just turned the hay, and it will be fine. IF it doesn't rain on us tonight (large storm building to the NW) we can start bailing in the morning. Once it's in bales I don't worry so much as most of the bale will stay dry unless we have a real "gully washer."
I love driving the tractor and baler. I don't do the bale wagon but leave it to Lonnie and the neighbor. In the smaller field we pick it up by hand, and I like doing that, too, but don't tell my husband. Best of all, I like it when the hay is all in the barn!
Hope you get some rain, Lee, and that it comes at the right time. I guess some parts of the SE are still pretty dry, too. Maybe everyone will get some rain out of the hurricaines. The moisture from Dolly is supposed to be getting here tomorrow night. Another good reason to bale tomorrow.
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 - 4:11 am:
Jos - here we estimate half a small square bale a day per horse. Small square bales of course vary in weight a lot but the textbooks will say they should be 33-44 lbs so that's pretty much the same as Sara's estimate.
We feed hay usually for 90 days to the "out" horses during the winter.
I hate doing the hay because of the weather here, which is always unpredictable, and the difficulty of getting help at short notice, but like everyone else, I feel smug when it's finally in the loft, and I love the smell of hay in the loft.
Imogen
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 - 6:43 am:
I think Imogen I can go with your calculations. It is hard for me to know how much hay I need because the winter is much shorter then I am used to and the grass keeps growing longer, on the other hand it is not unusual to feed hay in august over here because it has been dry, more Saras situation.
On the whole I have 100 bales of hay for each adult horse and 100 for the two foals with 100 extra because the quality was so good this year, if the straw season is as good as the hay I think I will be fine.
Jos
PS Even the cats think the hay smells sooo good they dont want to get out of it or would that be new mice
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 - 6:45 am:
I forgot: didn't lift a finger this year bought it and stacked in the hayshed for me it cost 1 euro a bale! I couldn't believe my luck!
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Member:
muffi
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 31, 2008 - 1:17 am:
well I just scanned this briefly and am aghast -
we are paying $16 a bale for hay - and I am talking two twine 50 - 60 pounders
Who ever is apalled at paying $3 a bale SEND ME SOME!!!
I go thru one a day with just two horses. they have a dry lot/ arena - dirt. I hand graze them as much as time will allow this time of year but it is still only a "treat" in their diet.
yea horses are expensive now aren't they. Thank God we love them.
remember the song - I Owe - I Owe it's off to work I go. Cause my babies need shoes, Metal shoes... & Hay now!!!
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