Bcompton53 said:
Dave said:
In 1997 I sold my equipment and bought my hay ever since. At least 4 out of 5 years I bought hay cheaper than I can make it. But I never bought hay in February. Buying hay this late in the year is almost guaranteed to cost too much. I always bought the hay in the summer and bought more than I figured I would use. I would feed the left over hay first the next year. Droughts are rare in Western Washington but we had one which forced me to start feeding hay 2 1/2 months early. By November I was counting bales and could see well in advance that I would run short. I got in a semi load of hay the first of December. Come February people were begging for hay and there simply wasn't any available at any price. How does the saying go, bad planning on your part does not constitute a panic on my part.
Yeah, I'm to blame. Excuse the 30 year old trying to build a herd, who doesn't have any family in the business, who lives 3 hours from his herd. Farm changed from dairy to beef 3 years ago, and been building the herd since then. My only two "normal" sources for hay had none. Zero, zilch. So I'm piecing together the orders I can find. I've bought two people out so far. But yeah, It's my God awful planning. Thanks for the encouragement.
You are not the only one who has come up the hard way trying to build his herd. I started milking on a dairy, raised some bottle calves. BOUGHT EVERYTHING RETAIL. Worked, and STILL DO, an off the farm job. Moved to Va in 1981. Raised what calves I could afford. Bought my hay and grain. Financed a few cows. My son came in with me when he turned 18 and moved here from his fathers" in Ct. Worked, and still DOES, a full time job off the farm. Borrowed money, and bought cows. Rent and lease property. Financed equipment. Made a little money in the good years, paid off some debt or bought more cows. Lived off the "full-time" job.
We have scrambled to find hay in the past. Paid outrageous money sometimes. Got caught short and had to pay more than it would ever pencil out. Lost one farm to bankruptcy when prices were just too low and inputs were too high. You are not doing anything that many of us have also done. We are tightening our belts right now because we will be in the red this year. Too much rain, poor hay, too much "washy grass" last year, poorer nutrition, and very disappointing pregnancy rates. We are commercial, not purebred. But we will suffer through it as do most farmers. We have our health for the most part, we are doing what we like in our "off hours" and maybe by the grace of God, we will survive.
I work in the dairy industry.... You want to see INEQUITY, look at the milk prices compared to the costs... and farmers, GOOD FARMERS, that are saying enough is enough.
So this year, you will pay "too much" for the hay. Next year you will do better at getting hay sooner, being as ready as you can. If you think that the hay is too high priced, then have less cows, stockpile more grass, rotational graze, or put out the money to buy equipment and make your own. Living 3 hours away is not great. But trying to deal with Mother Nature, like last year, will make a 3 hour trip seem like a walk in the park.
Hay here regularly goes for $150 to 250 a ton. So what you are paying is not the end of the world compared to what we see. And we take a hit on our feeders because they have to get trucked to anywhere that they are going to get fed or grazed.