dilemma

[GMN]

Well we will have a dilemma on our hands soon. A family member is almost out of hay, and instead of listening to everyone, months ago and bought hay when there was still some to be found-somewhat cheap-she didn't. Now I know she will expect us to sell her some of ours, at a price that we can't, and we just can't sell any of ours, as we may not make it thru ourselves this year-I hate these situations, because family is a pain in the you know what! How to handle this nightmare?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Simply explain the situation you're in and promise to help her locate some hay elsewhere.

 

[dun]

Wear a T-shirt that says "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

 

[hillsdown]

"Sucks to be her ! "

Tell her that if she cannot feed her cattle ,cull prices are pretty darn good right now . Also there is always hay/feed for sale, she may not like the price or the shipping costs she will have to pay, but there is feed available out there .

 

[Anonymous]

I don't see why this is even a topic of your concern at all. Her cattle, her problem. Most I would do is help her find cheap hay for her to go pick up

 

[GMN]

Its our problem because we live next to her, we do her hay every year and just about everything else for her that involves her farm-Cheap hay-you must be dreaming, there isn't a bale in the paper lower than $50 a bale right now-if it was, this wouldn't be an issue-

 

[Anonymous]

Well tell her bout the 50 dollar hay then. Then youre done

 

[Crazy Farmgirl]

Its our problem because we live next to her, we do her hay every year and just about everything else for her that involves her farm-Cheap hay-you must be dreaming, there isn't a bale in the paper lower than $50 a bale right now-if it was, this wouldn't be an issue-

Sounds like she has more issues than simply being out of hay!!! None of them are your issue! Family or not, HER FARM HER PROBLEM!

 

[Anonymous]

Its our problem because we live next to her, we do her hay every year and just about everything else for her that involves her farm-Cheap hay-you must be dreaming, there isn't a bale in the paper lower than $50 a bale right now-if it was, this wouldn't be an issue-

Sounds like she has more issues than simply being out of hay!!! None of them are your issue! Family or not, HER FARM HER PROBLEM!

Yep. Sounds like she's used to walking all over family and they let her. :2cents:

 

[ANAZAZI]

It is impossible to take care of others without taking care of oneself first. You must take care of yourself if that is all you can do, and if she is going to get any help, she will have to get it from someone else.

If you had lots of time, hay and money, and her situation were unexpected instead of expected, well different story.

 

[backhoeboogie]

The local feed store has small round bales for $150. That's what I am telling everyone. Along with, "I may have to buy a few of those myself."

Since a lot of these folks are people who did not like me making $5 a bale profit, I am kind of liking the situation. Poetic Justice.

 

[Old_man_emu]

Can you get a better deal by buying a bigger load of hay?
If you're a bit tight yourself you might best to get in now before prices possibly get worse.

 

[dun]

Here's a link for her to check for hay

http://www.agebb.missouri.edu/haylst/

 

[jedstivers]

Just find some and buy a few bales and tell her your short and buying some and does she want to buy a few along with you?

 

[hillsdown]

I think it is time to be honest with her . Tell her the truth. She needs to grow up and think for herself as people like her give all of us cattle women ,be it dairy or ranchers ,a bad name . Does she want to be a business woman or a useless, needy burden ? The choice is hers, you have done enough GMN time to wash your hands of this. By enabling her you are not allowing her to grow as a person. Sometimes the school of Hard Knox and disappointment, has the best lessons to learn from .


Good luck !

 

[JSCATTLE]

As everyone else says its not really your problem . My wife's uncle did the same thing . He didn't buy hay last fall because in his words he didn't want to get ripped off . Well he came over last week and saw my cows grazing ryegrass . And about 100 rolls in my barn . He said hey I need some hay can you sell me some. My response was nope I might need that hay if the drought continues this summer . If the drought breaks I'll have extra for next year . I offered to help him pen and haul the cows to the sale .

 

[Calman]

Downsizing your herd after years of getting it where you want is a sad thing,but thousands here in Texas have had to do just that.No reason for you to suffer for her mistakes.
I understand your feelings but sometimes life aint easy.
Different story if you are making money on her cows.
She's just gonna have to bite the bullet and move on.

Cal

 

[Tim/South]

I had an in law do the same thing a few years ago. He would not buy hay because people were "asking too much". He was going to go to a more rural county with more Ag and buy hay at a right price.
He bought junk that his stock would not eat.
His daughter called one day asking if I would sell them any hay?
I told her I did not have any extra and had already been offered $$ per roll. The price I quoted was way above what they would have been willing to pay.

I will always offer a hand to someone who is down on their luck.
I have no patience for freeloaders.

 

[Old_man_emu]

The other side of this is that hay might be a bit costly but people don't consider the price of the nutrients they are importing onto their farm when they buy that hay. When fed to cows a lot of that nutrient is returned to the soil and inturn has a postive impact on soil fertility.
Yeah the price of the hay might be up historically but all things considered, is it really still expensive?
Maybe you can buy the hay and when it comes time for her to sell some cattle, she pays you back?

 

[regolith]

Maybe you can buy the hay and when it comes time for her to sell some cattle, she pays you back?

Not in this situation OME. Someone who gets themselves into a foreseeable and easily preventable fix probably doesn't have the business acumen to keep themselves afloat and pay their debts.

Think beyond hay if it's over-priced, GMN. A bit of rationing of the forage and supplying a high energy feed can meet the cows' needs at a lower price at times, and more consistent quality. Just depends what's available and what feeding methods can be used.