If fert is too expensive to make your own hay, how would adding a middle man and freight bring that price down?
Fertilizer Prices
- Thread starter sstterry
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pnw-farmer
Well-known member
16-16-16 quoted 881.00
Ouch!
mwj
Well-known member
Dealers are stuck with high priced inventory that has to move thru the system. Dealer prices are always the last to drop.
If you can use semi loads you will have better luck thru brokers. Might be a good time to split loads with friends or neighbors.
If you can use semi loads you will have better luck thru brokers. Might be a good time to split loads with friends or neighbors.
pnw-farmer
Well-known member
Thats just a stock fertilizer. Having them put together a mix per soil test. I think that is going to be the big ouch!
mwj
Well-known member
You can buy bulk blends out of some terminals.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
It's so different here. Nobody would let there cattle stay on my land even if I looked after them. Plus as stated above we rarely freeze so it would be a mud hole..
Add in an epic drought. People around here that don't make their own hay can't afford to buy it, much less have it delivered.
littletom
Well-known member
I been trying to figure this out for years. If I count everything as aspect to make a roll of hay. Equipment, fertilizer, cost of seeding, fuel etc.. and the one everyone here seems to forget cost of land. You have to at least charge what you could rent it to someone else for. 90% of hay fields here would be in row crop. Then you come up with best case scenario of its wash. But often the pencil shows its cheaper to buy it. Milage no doubt differs in location and situation
SmokinM
Well-known member
A lot of hay guys aren't very good at math.
tex452
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32-0-0 $595/ton.
I have plenty phosphorus from the chicken litter I put out.
I didn't buy any commercial last year because of the outrageous price, I did use chicken litter, it's not cheap but it puts something back in the soil.
I have plenty phosphorus from the chicken litter I put out.
I didn't buy any commercial last year because of the outrageous price, I did use chicken litter, it's not cheap but it puts something back in the soil.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
The grazing experts like to show how nature is not linear, and you need to increase the pounds of cattle per acre in each paddock (by moving cattle more often), to significantly increase the rate of fertility building. Damm - - more math required...
This higher grazing density is not year-round. Obviously, you would want the ground to be fit. Here the best mob grazing time would usually mean July/August/September.
This higher grazing density is not year-round. Obviously, you would want the ground to be fit. Here the best mob grazing time would usually mean July/August/September.
Dave
Well-known member
I figured that a bunch when was working. Ball park figure. 40,000 pounds of cows per acre per day. That is with a healthy stand of grass 12 inches tall taking it down to 6 inches. And then moving their behinds.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Duplicate
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
About 30,000 lbs per acre looks "right" to me. But the experts suggest 10X that when you have the time make multiple moves per day.
I think there are several things happening when you crank up the grazing lbs/acre:
1) Cattle are less selective and trample more - - so more nutrients get recycled.
2) Dung and urine are distributed more uniformly.
3) Soil biology is stimulated more - - so additional nutrients become available
4)
You can get N from air and available P&K from small rocks. This is even cheaper than buying nutrients by the bale.
I think there are several things happening when you crank up the grazing lbs/acre:
1) Cattle are less selective and trample more - - so more nutrients get recycled.
2) Dung and urine are distributed more uniformly.
3) Soil biology is stimulated more - - so additional nutrients become available
4)
You can get N from air and available P&K from small rocks. This is even cheaper than buying nutrients by the bale.
OP
OP
I stopped by the Co-Op today and just asked for the current price of 19-19-19. It is currently at $813/ton.
ClodHopper37869
Well-known member
My Coop on 12/28 was$779.83 per ton, but sometimes the price changes weekly!!
Silver
Well-known member
Does anyone soil test and apply custom blend fertilizer according to the results?
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
Been there, did grid testing, and found following the recommendations very expensive.
Went to turkey litter plus granular K. Then litter price went way up.
Went to hay bale grazing or unfolling.
Learned that the soil test recommendations are very seasonal and less than precise. So currently go pretty hard with lime and manure and a little top dress. Soil tests are more of a tracking method.
Then use tissue testing to calibrate my eyeballs and ID where top dressing is needed.
Texas G@l
Well-known member
we soil test the hay meadow and fertilize accordingly..... usually. last year due to high prices, we took the results to our fertilizer guy and asked him how he would adjust it to keep costs down . he came up with a new "recipe" costing about 40% less than suggested one. despite a historic drought, we still produced as much hay as the previous year. a soil test is money well spent any year.
