Hay cost in Alabama

Help Support CattleToday:

Jogeephus

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
24,228
Reaction score
15
Location
South Georgia
Anyone know the cost of hay in Alabama? Had a friend tell me that he has a friend who wants to buy hay from me and haul to his farm in Alabama. Said the cost of hay there was extremely high.
 
Don't know why that would be, they have been getting plenty of rain and there is lots of hay from what I understand.
 
It may not be that they don't have it, it may be that most is of poor quality and if you are going to buy hay buy it for quality as well as quanity. If you're going to buy it may also pay to have a good place to store it so that if you over buy it will be of good quality for the next hay season.
 
RD-Sam":2v0go3wl said:
Don't know why that would be, they have been getting plenty of rain and there is lots of hay from what I understand.

My thoughts exactly. I'm not sure if my friend doesn't have this confused with last year's hay season. Hopefully I will learn more details today but I know by the time you haul my hay to Alabama its gonna be some expensive hay by the time it gets there.
 
I'm in south AL and we're getting some great hay this year. My folks buy square bales for horses and it's been beautiful. Our hay field, which is rolled for cattle, looks better than it has in three summers. Can't imagine ya'll are producing hay that's significantly cheaper for similar quality.
 
I imagine it is all being hauled to Texas. At least, from what I've seen, it appears the crapy stuff is.
 
No question, some people will cut and bail anything and call it hay unfortunately. I wonder though if ya'll are getting some of the junk people here have stockpiled during previous years' droughts and are cleaning it out to make room for good hay they're able to get this year.
 
farmwriter":2wksdqrr said:
No question, some people will cut and bail anything and call it hay unfortunately. I wonder though if ya'll are getting some of the junk people here have stockpiled during previous years' droughts and are cleaning it out to make room for good hay they're able to get this year.

Probably but a lot of it I see heading south is pretty darn good looking hay and most is "new crop".
 
Im in northern AL and the hay is very plentiful; can't see why it would be expensive. In fact...I've seen adds for this year's hay going for as little as $18-20 per 5x5 roll.

bks
 
I think the biggest part of the problem is price. Folks just don't understand good feed cost $$ to produce, then when you add the cost of freighting it several hundred miles it puts good hay out of reach. So the hay mongers ship junk hay half way across the state and country for what sounds like a deal. NOT. Locally, corn and maize stubble is going for $55 a 6x6 roll. Freeze damaged wheat hay was selling for $65 for 4x6 rolls. Some "new" coastal mix (full of last years growth plus johnson grass, oak tree leaves, sticks and stems) was going for $65 also. Looked at some 5x5 1/2 "fall cut" coastal, stored outside the asking price $65. I really think it had to be on the ground when Ike went thru last year. I had an opportunity to unroll a roll of it and it was rotten and mildewed to the core. Now good hay can be found and delivered, but it is going to cost you $75-$85 a roll to get it hauled in.
 
vett...I was down in the Llano/Mason area about a month ago. A man had cut some sudan hay and was trying to get $110 a roll for it. I've heard of maize stalks selling for $30 a roll over in the corn growing areas. Might be the best deal around because what little grass hay is put up won't contain a lot of nutrition.
 
Corn farmer near us baled his corn instead of harvesting it. He planted milo or haygrazer (don't know which) on a bunch of it about 3 weeks ago. It is comming up but the crabgrass is out growing most it. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter and he will cut it for hay too. It has been a little over 2 weeks since it rained and is beginning to really show it again. Still fairly green but growth has stopped. Wilting and burndown is starting to take hold. Again, that one good rain to put us over the top has failed to show up. But for August that is normal.
 
farmwriter":dp21h4ca said:
I'm in south AL and we're getting some great hay this year. My folks buy square bales for horses and it's been beautiful. Our hay field, which is rolled for cattle, looks better than it has in three summers. Can't imagine ya'll are producing hay that's significantly cheaper for similar quality.

He said he was paying $100 per roll. I can definitely produce it for way less than that. But like you are saying, it sounds like Alabama has had ample rains so this doesn't make any sense. I had hoped to learn more today but I didn't. Personally, I think someone got their wires crossed.
 
The problem I'm having with buying hay in central Texas is getting the supposed sellers to return calls. The nearest hay to be had is 50 -75 miles away, it seems. I've had 3 different sellers agree to bring me a load of 34 4 x 51/2 rolls for $65 or $70 a roll. But that's the end of it.....Never can get ahold of them again. I guess there is just so much demand that they can pick and choose where they want to haul to.

My neighbor bought a load of 5 x 5 rolls for $65 a roll, and it was pure junk. Had a lot of mesquite and other trash in it, including a garden hose that looked to be in usable condition. They called it coastal hay, and there may have been a little coastal in it, but it looked to me a lot like bahia and weeds. :shock:

It looks like this may be the year to just give up if it doesn't rain pretty soon. And, anyone that wants to increase their herds should come to the Giddings sale. It's getting to the point that people will ALMOST pay you to take their cattle. :lol2:
 
Jim62":3qthwv4u said:
The problem I'm having with buying hay in central Texas is getting the supposed sellers to return calls. The nearest hay to be had is 50 -75 miles away, it seems. I've had 3 different sellers agree to bring me a load of 34 4 x 51/2 rolls for $65 or $70 a roll. But that's the end of it.....Never can get ahold of them again. I guess there is just so much demand that they can pick and choose where they want to haul to.

My neighbor bought a load of 5 x 5 rolls for $65 a roll, and it was pure junk. Had a lot of mesquite and other trash in it, including a garden hose that looked to be in usable condition. They called it coastal hay, and there may have been a little coastal in it, but it looked to me a lot like bahia and weeds. :shock:

It looks like this may be the year to just give up if it doesn't rain pretty soon. And, anyone that wants to increase their herds should come to the Giddings sale. It's getting to the point that people will ALMOST pay you to take their cattle. :lol2:
Just about the same here. Good cows got so cheap a while back it was sad, everything was going to slaughter. But the young bred cows have been really strong the past few weeks. The owners of the salebarn have done a good job in getting new buyers to the sale. Maybe it has a lot to do with the huge runs (for them) they have had, but it really has firmed up the prices.
 
I am in east central Alabama and yes we have plenty of hay. I have had to dodge the showers to get it cut and rolled though. I have had a little get rained on but I have not let any get significantly over grown. I have two patches that are about ready to cut now and I need to get them cut so they can make again before fall but all the rest are making the last cutting as I type. I am looking at 4 cuttings on most fields and two should make 5 cuttings
Fertilizer, that stuff is still high and the major cost of production. If you don't fertilize adequately and only cut twice a year you can afford to sell hay cheep but that hay is not very nutritious. The prices I here around me for good well fertilized and cut on time hay ranges from $90 a roll for barn kept net wrap horse hay they call it to field stored good cow hay at $55 a roll. Both are 4X5.5 foot rolls. I have been selling my 5X5 rolls for $45 in the field.
So I would say if you can find Good hay in the large roll for $50 a roll buy it.
 
Jo, I'm right here in west central GA. about 20 miles from Ala. I have noticed for years the hay seems to bring more over there.I usally pay 35 a 4x5 roll around here in Ga. And they seem to get 55 to 65 over there.All I could ever figure is they have more horse folks driving the price up.I wont touch a square bale around here.Horse folks will pay 7 dollars a bale.Not slamming horse folks I have a few myself but they get pasture and cow hay.
 
Thanks for the replies. Still haven't heard back from my friend and he goes off to college tomorrow so I guess I'll never know the whole story. Sounds like he either misunderstood his friend or his friend was a small timer who was being taken advantage of..
 
Jim62":jb0h42bh said:
The problem I'm having with buying hay in central Texas is getting the supposed sellers to return calls. The nearest hay to be had is 50 -75 miles away, it seems. I've had 3 different sellers agree to bring me a load of 34 4 x 51/2 rolls for $65 or $70 a roll. But that's the end of it.....Never can get ahold of them again. I guess there is just so much demand that they can pick and choose where they want to haul to.

My neighbor bought a load of 5 x 5 rolls for $65 a roll, and it was pure junk. Had a lot of mesquite and other trash in it, including a garden hose that looked to be in usable condition. They called it coastal hay, and there may have been a little coastal in it, but it looked to me a lot like bahia and weeds. :shock:

It looks like this may be the year to just give up if it doesn't rain pretty soon. And, anyone that wants to increase their herds should come to the Giddings sale. It's getting to the point that people will ALMOST pay you to take their cattle. :lol2:
Any of you guys that need hay if you can figure out the trucking give me a pm I can sell it to you pretty cheap
 

Latest posts

Top