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Offline Kathyp

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hay prices
« on: July 06, 2007, 08:24:55 pm »
i didn't buy hay last year.  i had plenty.  year before i paid 155 a ton delivered and then paid the local kids 50.00 each to stack it in.  thought i'd be lazy this year and order from someone who'd deliver and stack.  240.00 a ton!!!!!  no way!  what are hay prices like in your area?

needless to say, i am searching for cheaper grass/alfalfa mix!
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline BlueEggFarmer

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2007, 08:38:04 pm »
We bale our own, it is just plain grass and clover. Sell at  $3.00 per bale. Diesel fuel  is killer . Watch for prices to climb even higher since the cost of feed corn and soy are skyrocketing because of ethanol alot of folks are trying to get by with more hay and pasture.

Offline pdmattox

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2007, 09:56:45 pm »
We bale ours as well and it is coastal bermuda mostly we get 4.00 a square bale picked up in the field.  We have 6' round bales same grass and last year it was 30.00 a roll and this year it will go 40.00 a roll and also picked up in the field.
 I did hear a couple of months ago the bermuda hay was at 70.00 a roll and only the horse people(rich people)were buying.

Offline Kathyp

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2007, 10:38:31 pm »
i can't use round bales here.  they rot before they are eaten.  i also try not to use local hay because the quality is not very high.  it's ok for cows, but not so good for horses.  i buy central and eastern oregon hay.  usually an orchard grass, alfalfa mix. 

not all horse people are rich  :-).  we may need to be if the cost of hay keeps going up.

Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline pdmattox

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2007, 11:08:55 pm »
just jerking chains on the rich horse people comment. Do keep in mind that i live 45 mins from the county that has race horse farms all over and they appear that they plenty of money.  Air conditioned horse barns and all.

Offline bluegrass

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2007, 09:17:18 am »
Oh you haven't seen anything til you been to Kentucky. We are building a new farm now for Adena Springs stallions. It is around 4000 acres and has over 20 miles of roads on it. We put in around 50 houses for the help and more runout barns than anybody needs.....and yes they are the air conditioned type. They keep the whole farm mowed and I think he has full time help just to  do it......I have seen at least 4 or 5 large John Deere's with batwing mowers running side by side out there. Looks good, but would love to know what they spend to keep that place mowed. And think of all the hay they are wasting just because he wants his farm to look like a golf course. 
He has two other farms and a race track of notoriety called Pimlico ;)   
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2007, 03:36:16 pm »
and he can afford 240.00 a ton hay!  i lived in KY for a bit.  loved it.  it's one of the states i have lived in that i wouldn't mind going back to. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Mici

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2007, 06:12:09 pm »
go figure.....
they want to turn half the property OUR native stallions NEED to turn into golf course just because they're DUMB INTO golf course.

095234u569067u30492u3409/=9/=()$/)(#&%()/&)%("?=)"?= (this stands for at least a ton of curse words) polititians or some other $=)%(W?=#"??="$(" asses for their own fun.
they want to turn the HOME of the Lipicanec (Lipizzaner) into golf course!!!


sorry for the OT but i know that our prices would not concern you one bit :-D

Offline Kathyp

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2007, 03:39:57 pm »
well, i ended up sucking it up and ordering the 240.00 a ton hay.  :-(  seems that we are exporting hay to all you folks who flooded out, etc. and half the rest of the world.  can't blame the hay farmers for wanting the best price, but if sure makes it hard on us non-rich types.  glad we ate the cows!  anyway, for you west coasters who need hay this year....don't wait!  it's only going to get worse.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2007, 11:49:29 pm »
Kathyp,

I'm going to make you cry.  I spent on the average, nearly $10.00 a bale for hay last winter for my small heard of goats. 

This year I spied an add in the local newspaper for hay $4.50 per bale delivered within 10 miles.  I was within that 10 miles.  I called up the guy.  Yeah I had the price right.  He said if you're feeding goats and don't mind 2nds I can give you a better price.  WOW!! a better price that $4.50 delivered.  I'll take a hundred dollars worth I said, figuring I'd get 25-30 bales.

He delivered it the next day.  Then stacked it for me (my being disabled and all).  I gave him the money ($100.00 cash) and went to count the bales.  52 bales right were I wanted them, very professionally done.  That's less than 2.00 per bale--delivered and stacked.

Even if some of it spoils--it's still a good buy.
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Offline bluegrass

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #10 on: July 17, 2007, 06:17:24 am »
A guy I work with runs a trail riding operation over the weekends and went to a horse auction this past week. He bought two paliminos mares with thier colts and bred back for 350.00 each. Said people are dumping horses right now because of the lack of hay. North east still has plenty at 1.50-2.00 a bale.
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #11 on: July 17, 2007, 01:22:19 pm »
brian

i can get hay at your price but it's the local hay.  the bales are only 50 lbs so it takes a lot more room to store the amount i need.  also, the horses don't keep as well on it.  it just makes more sense for me to buy the eastern or central oregon hay.  fortunately, i don't have the number of horses i had back when we were showing!
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Offline Beemistress

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #12 on: July 19, 2007, 05:30:39 pm »
Here in CA we have to pay $10 for a hundred lb. bale of alfalfa.  It's never good, green leafy alfalfa full of flowers like I remember in Oklahoma, usually it's stemmy and over-dry.

I'm just feeding 3 goats, and because straight alfalfa is a little too rich for them, I have to buy an equal amount of grass hay.  It's really maddening because they sell it for even more!  Any kind I get runs me $12 to $15 a bale!

The goats are dairy goats and have to eat some grain too.  I love having goats but the feed bill is killing us.

Offline Bennettoid

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2007, 11:25:44 pm »
Well, we have pasture right now, so the Horses are free, but if we had to pay, it would be $3.00 a bale. It usually goes to 7- 10 dollars a bale come January, so we are starting to shop around now.

Offline thomashton

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2007, 07:55:36 pm »
I can get it easily for $1.50/bale. Some bales are 50 pounders, some are 65 pounds. Depends. I saw grass/alfalfa at $1/bale about a month ago. I still have the guys number, but did not go and get some. Second cut is going on right now in Northern Utah, so he may have it again soon. I'm just feeding goats, so don't need the fancy stuff. Am kicking myself for not getting in on the 1$/bale deal. Hopefully I will be able to stock up on it so come Jan/Feb I don't have to fork out a fortune for hay.
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #15 on: July 25, 2007, 08:26:04 pm »
can't understand why ours is so spendy. we grow it here.  guess a lot of ours gets exported and this is big horse country.  people are willing to pay....

finally getting mine in this week.  240.00 a ton, 110 pound bales, orchard/alfalfa.  the 240 includes delivery and stacking....still.....that's a lot!
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Offline Barngodess

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #16 on: July 26, 2007, 07:50:11 pm »
Going rate at the moment, here is $2.75 a bale for grass hay.  It does have SOME timothy in it...... I buy it by the bale, 400 per year for me with my 2 draft horses. And that is delivered and we stack it in the barn.

Melissa
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #17 on: July 29, 2007, 12:03:50 am »
I have 3 goats, they will only eat the leaves off the alfalfa that sells for $10-12 a bale and leave the stems.  I can scrape old moldy hay out of the corners of the barn and they will eat that over the alfalfa.  Go figure.  So with goats 52 bales for $100.00 beats $10-15 a bale for local grass hay. depending on the time of year.  I end up running the alfalfa stems through the mulcher and putting it in the compost pile.
So at less than $2.00 a bale I'm saving a ton of money.

I grown green.  Compost made from Goat manure and alfalfa stems grows rhubarb stalks 4 feet high when mulched with it in the fall.  My parents had a little patch of rhubarb.  Last fall we mulched it.  This year we divided it up and replanted into a 20 foot raised bed and gave several starts away.  I will mulch it again this fall and expect a 20 foot hedge next spring.  Ditto the raspberries and strawberries.
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Offline bluegrass

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #18 on: July 29, 2007, 10:01:09 am »
Going rate at the moment, here is $2.75 a bale for grass hay.  It does have SOME timothy in it...... I buy it by the bale, 400 per year for me with my 2 draft horses. And that is delivered and we stack it in the barn.

Melissa
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That is a good price delivered. I didn't ever have any dilivered, but the most I had ever payed up that way was 2.00 picked up at the barn. I have bought standing hay for 300.00 per 20 acres and mowed and baled it myself. I would get about 75 or 80 round bales per 20 acre, wrap them and re-sell for 35.00 per bale.

I might need to get back into hay brokering with the prices going the way they are. Wonder if they will hold.
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Offline Carriage House Farm

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Re: hay prices
« Reply #19 on: October 23, 2007, 09:07:39 am »
Sort of later now in the year, but hay prices around here are now ranging from 7.50 to 12 per small square bale and 100.00 to 150.00 per 1000# round (and some of it can be 3 year old slightly molded stuff to boot).

We bale about 6000 small square and another 120 round for ourselves, so we are safe from the madness, but we began feeding round bales early this year because of the drought.  Even with rotation 30 horses can wreck everything if you get no rain over a 3 month period.

Round stover bales are selling for 30 to 35 right now.  We even baled some as back-up and we had people offering us 40.00 a piece as they drove by.

Absolutely amazing.
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