Hay Gouging?

[backhoeboogie]

I have never sold hay for $100. I was offered $150 a roll because people were paying that for trash that was trucked in. I had horse quality coastal at the time and I had animals to feed.

All I am saying is that I had fertilizer cost (which was cheaper is previous years), irrigation expenses at $30 a roll when you penciled out fuel cost, $14 a roll paid to bale it, and it all adds up.

There are people on this board who have bought my hay. I was selling it just above cost.

Now I have leased a hay field. I have lease expense, fertilizer, and I am paying to have it baled. This year it cost me $32 a roll on the leased fields to produce it. We've had tons of rain here. Too much.

 

[Jogeephus]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

 

[kjones]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

If you are selling your hay to make money, and you say you would take $50 a roll, why do you care what someone is going to do with that hay? I mean you are selling it to make money right? But you wont sell it if the end destination is for horses?

 

[Jogeephus]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

If you are selling your hay to make money, and you say you would take $50 a roll, why do you care what someone is going to do with that hay? I mean you are selling it to make money right? But you wont sell it if the end destination is for horses?

Its simple, I'm not in the hay business but I wouldn't mind helping out a fellow cattleman to keep from liquidating his herd. Secondly, I don't like horses. Third, all he will be doing is depleting a scarce commodity to feed a frill. Fourth, he will buy it for $50, unroll it and square bale it and sell it for $140. Fifth, it too good of quality hay to feed a darn horse, might just founder the dumb animal. :lol: (Now if we were talking mules, it would be a different story.)

 

[MikeC]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

End your delimma now!

Send it to me! :lol:

 

[mnmtranching]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

If you are selling your hay to make money, and you say you would take $50 a roll, why do you care what someone is going to do with that hay? I mean you are selling it to make money right? But you wont sell it if the end destination is for horses?

Its simple, I'm not in the hay business but I wouldn't mind helping out a fellow cattleman to keep from liquidating his herd. Secondly, I don't like horses. Third, all he will be doing is depleting a scarce commodity to feed a frill. Fourth, he will buy it for $50, unroll it and square bale it and sell it for $140. Fifth, it too good of quality hay to feed a darn horse, might just founder the dumb animal. :lol: (Now if we were talking mules, it would be a different story.)

Those horses cost cattlemen, Up in yuppie MN there are so many horses. Seems like everybodys got 4 horses even on small lots got their lawns fenced :shock: They feed hay year around :x Take up the entire local hay supply then some.

Along about March they run out of local hay, these horse people don't have a clue how much hay it takes.

And the waste :shock: they don't put it in feeders, horses eat some and **** on the rest.

At that time I still have piles and piles of trucked in hay, and these horse people come around with their ATV trailers and Tahoes wondering if they could buy a bale of hay.

Cattle people will get it at my cost.

The horse people, will I'm not gonna say what I charge them

 

[C HOLLAND]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

End your delimma now!

Send it to me! :lol:

I am closer and will come get it, besides Mike has shown us those trailer's full of hay this year. :lol:

 

[Brute 23]

I would shut the door and close the gate if I had to buy hay for $100-$200. I wont even pay $75 delivered.

Cull hard... and stick the money in the bank... rebuild at a later date. ;-) Sadly you will probably make more off the money in the bank than in cattle. :lol:

 

[C HOLLAND]

I would shut the door and close the gate if I had to buy hay for $100-$200. I wont even pay $75 delivered.

Cull hard... and stick the money in the bank... rebuild at a later date. ;-) Sadly you will probably make more off the money in the bank than in cattle. :lol:

Brute, I am almost to that point.

I don't have enough pasture now and am working to make more from cut timber land and I buy all my hay.

I hope to have a hay barn built by next year and plan to have several fields of rye grass cut for hay and my largest Bahia pasture will be cut next year several times if the weather cooperates.
I hope to have a 2 year stockpile in the barn before I put another cow on my place.
The small operation that buys all their hay has a rough time in these drought times.

 

[Jogeephus]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

End your delimma now!

Send it to me! :lol:

I am closer and will come get it, besides Mike has shown us those trailer's full of hay this year. :lol:

Seriously, if you need some I'm gonna have some extra on top of the extra I'm going to horde. I couldn't haul it but if you are close enough where the freight doesn't get out of hand let me know. Just PM me if you are interested.

 

[C HOLLAND]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

End your delimma now!

Send it to me! :lol:

I am closer and will come get it, besides Mike has shown us those trailer's full of hay this year. :lol:

Seriously, if you need some I'm gonna have some extra on top of the extra I'm going to horde. I couldn't haul it but if you are close enough where the freight doesn't get out of hand let me know. Just PM me if you are interested.

You know, I can smile knowing that even with a post about what some consider hay price to be to high.

The good in people still come shinning through.

And on a good note, we had about 3/10 of rain last night and I hope and pray others got some much needed rain.

 

[alabama]

We got almost 3/10 also last night about midnight. And very glad of it. I sure hope everyone got some.

 

[cowtrek]

I have seen this term used many times on here.

If a cattleman buys hay voluntarily at what some deem to be an unreasonable price, how can this be considered gouging?

We have a unique situation here in that the Water Board raises hay on sludge fertilized land and sells the hay for less than market value.

Everyone who buys hay always bring their (Water Board) price up when negotiating hay prices even though none is available now.

In essence they have created an "Under Priced" hay market here and it's hard for individuals to get the real value for hay.

If we ask more for hay than the publicly assisted Water Board, we are accused of gouging.

Amazing how that works ain't it?? ROFL. I've been there done that. I had a guy come by my place a few years back wanting me to 'bale hay' for him. Took me over to his place and showed me around. Mostly weeds and old dead grass and stuff. I've had it happen before; guys want to get rid of it to allow better grass to come in but they don't want to pay somebody to bush-hog it, they want something (hay??) to show for it no matter how lousy it is. I turned several of these 'hay jobs' down flat since it was obviously a mess I didn't want to take my equipment into. This guy wouldn't take no for an answer and it was a big job (plenty $$$) so I told him my standard rate for baling ($15/roll). He starts trying to jew me down, bitching that,"I can buy fertilized Jiggs hay all day long delivered for $20 a bale" (some local yokel actually had some signs up saying this, guess there's one born every minute). Anyway, I told him flat out, "Well, that's what you should do then, sounds like a h3ll of a deal!". He shut up and begged me to come 'bale' for him. I did (like a fool) and the place was so ate up with weeds I couldn't see the hog wallows but after two hours pitching around on the tractor like a rowboat in a hurricane a mower drag link broke so I had a good excuse to pull out and quit. Came back and raked/baled what I had cut and got my money so I broke even but I learned my lesson after that too!

So, I don't let guys jew me down on stuff. I know what it costs me to make it and what's a fair profit on it, and what it's worth. Anybody told me "No, I won't pay your price; they only want 2/3 of that for sewer sludge hay" I'd be like "well why are you standing here wasting my time? Sounds like a h3ll of a deal to me. Get off my porch and don't let the gate hit you in the @ss on the way out!"

Ya get what ya pay for! OL JR

 

[cowtrek]

Looks like I'm going to have extra hay this year. A guy has offered me $50/roll in the field. I'd take that but he's gonna turn around and square bale it and sell it for horse hay. Sorry, I'm not interested in feeding horses. Funny thing though, there seems to be a lot of people sitting on their haunches thinking hay is going to go down and they aren't interested in getting now, right out of the field, before I have the expense of moving it. I think they are going to be in for a rude awakening come winter.

If you are selling your hay to make money, and you say you would take $50 a roll, why do you care what someone is going to do with that hay? I mean you are selling it to make money right? But you wont sell it if the end destination is for horses?

Its simple, I'm not in the hay business but I wouldn't mind helping out a fellow cattleman to keep from liquidating his herd. Secondly, I don't like horses. Third, all he will be doing is depleting a scarce commodity to feed a frill. Fourth, he will buy it for $50, unroll it and square bale it and sell it for $140. Fifth, it too good of quality hay to feed a darn horse, might just founder the dumb animal. :lol: (Now if we were talking mules, it would be a different story.)

heheheheh... I'M RIGHT BEHIND YA JOGEE!!! I HATE them horses too! About all we're seeing around here anymore is these idiot cityslickers moving in to 5-10 acre ranchettes and turning out horses. Biggest waste of time, money, land, and hay that ever was! I guess it's theirs to waste and none of my business so whatever, but I still think it's silly... Course I thought the guy across the road was daffy for having a rented pasture full of Longhorns, until I heard what some of these city slickers will pay for them. Oh, not to eat em, just to sit on the porch and watch em roam around and pretend they're John Wayne or something... oh well... If that's their forte and they can make a buck at it, go for it...

Course if gas goes above $5 a gallon I might learn how to ride a horse after all. Think I'd go with a donkey though... less upkeep/less high maintenance.