Price of hay in '06

[TXBobcat]

For everyone that bales and sales hay to the public, how much are you going to change things this year?

I know everything from fertilizer, to fuel and twine has went up, so I am expecting to pay more for hay, but just how much more over previous years is the question. With the drought we've been in down here, hay has been upwards of $100 a round bale in some cases, where in the past it was $30-$35. As my neighbor put it (whom I bought hay from last year), he ain't selling any of the first or second cutting, and then after he is completely overstocked with hay, he might sell some.

 

[alabama]

5'X5' rolls I sell for $30 stored outside. I feed all I can and sell the rest to cover the cost of fertelizer and fuel.

 

[alabama]

TTCLM: I have some that I will sell for $15 a roll but it was water cured. Yep It got rained on for a solid week and the tractor tires were running wet when it was rolled. I moved some out of my way the other day and it is full of white dust (mold) But I will gladly sell it for $15 a roll.
I just can't see how you can raise and roll hay for $15. Most very good hay around me goes for $30 to $45 and barn stored horse hay is $50 to $60. And they are selling all the they can cover.

 

[milesvb]

Nobody in this area would even consider bailing your hay for $15. I'll be looking at $20+ just for cut, rake and bale this year.

 

[El_Putzo]

We sold some OG/Fescue hay that was put up good for $18 a bale last year to a couple of neighbors. Those are 4x5 bales of course. Even with the lack of rain last summer I don't think much hay was sold around here for more than $35 a bale. Or at least I never saw advertisements for anything higher than that. I am speaking of grass hay. Alfalfa would have been higher.

 

[cfpinz]

I just can't see how you can raise and roll hay for $15.

Thank You

 

[samm]

we paid 27.50 delivered last year, but it was so dry that he only baled about a third of what he would normally make,(he is retiring so no more from him...and it was some good hay) so then we had to go to buying and we paid up to 75.00 a round. bale. finally we found some last week from a friend of a friend for 35.00 a roll. he said that we wasnt selling to just anyone, cuz he had been selling to a man in a nearby town that was marking it up and charging 80.00 a roll, so he cut him off when he found out, any how we now have enough to finish thru season....i hope, i hope it aint like gas or groceries, once it goes up it has a hard time of coming down.

 

[stocky]

I dont think anyone will actually price the new hay crop until we see how good the crop is. I pay from 12-18 for hay every June. I figure if I have to pay over 25, it cuts too deep into the cow profit and I am better off not to buy the cows than to donate the work with 25 plus dollar hay. I think hay will start out on the high price side and then will get cheaper if there is a good crop and higher if there is a poor crop. There are two things to consider in the hay price. What the seller has in the hay in expenses plus a little profit is one consideration and the most important one is what the limit that the buyer will pay or do without. It doesnt matter what the seller's expenses are if the buyer can only pay a certain amount or do without. That is what determines the market. Some people will hold their hay for 25 dollars and let it rot rather than take less while others will sell it for 15 rather than hold it over and get nothing for it

 

[endebt]

For all of them good old boys that are marking hay so high. I hope they have to eat it this year. I saw guys selling hay that yesterday was $35 and today is $100. These are my rancher friends and we don't talk any more. We are all in this together. Not out to screw each other.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

I just hope the hay producers cut enough cuts in 06 to bring the prices back down.We need the rain to do that. A little to early to really predict 06 prices.

 

[Nowland Farms]

What little hay I have for sale from '05 cuttings has (is) being sold for $25 a bale. I am thinking going to $30 or $35 for '06 cuttings especially since it cost me $1288.00 to have about 20 acres fertlized. At $340 per ton delivered and spread it dosen't take much to hurt my wallet. Ouchhhhhh.

 

[DoubleK]

Stocky, I hope you can still find hay in your area in your price range. I do custom baling and after speaking with 2 other contractors in my area, I will be charging $14 per bale to cut, rake and make a 5 X 6 bale (JD of course)of the customers hay. So, I would really doubt that I could find hay here of any quality for $12 to $15. Even fescue tailings wouldn't fit that price range. Here is a link to a study performed by the University of Missouri each year that takes a sampling from custom operators and averages each task accordingly.

http://muextension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/agguides/agecon/G00302.pdf



Dub

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

I'm always amazed when I read about folks in Missouri, Tenn. and elsewhere getting decent hay in large round bales for $20 or thereabouts. Couldn't get it for that price around here within the last 12 years, even in the best of times. DoubleK, you'd love making hay down here. Could get around $18 to $20 to cut, rake & roll on nice, flat as a pancake ground with no rocks. Might have to slice through a few fire ant mounds though.

 

[stocky]

Double K, You are definitely cheaper with your custom cutting and baling than around me. Last year, these guys got 14 for 4x5 bales and 16 for 4x6 bales. They will add a couple of dollars per bale more this year with the diesel prices higher. I learned a long time ago that you can't buy hay from someone who hires their hay cut and baled. Most farmers (including me) will not lose money in anything they price to sell. So, when you drive by big round bales of hay that are 2, 3, 4, or more years old and rotten, it will usually be someone who hired their hay put up and decided it would rot before they would sell it at a loss. I buy all my hay from people who put up their own hay because they dont have 15 dollars actual cash already in the bale that they paid to someone else. I do not understand how the people who pay 25 or more for hay can do it. It just adds up to too much money where I am to feed for 110 days per year at those prices.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

I envy the ranchers that don't live in Texas, NM, OK, or CO... buying "good" hay for 25-35$ a bale (sometimes delivered)!

We feel lucky if we can get quality grass hay for $40 to $55 a round bale. Had an email from a rancher in SW Texas area recently who paid $78 couple months ago...this week he "found" some for $130 a bale.

I think a lot of the higher prices for good hay in the WEST is due to continuing drought conditions, producers having to center-pivot irrigate, high diesel/trucking costs, etc. Some of the hay brokers are hauling hay from 2-3 States away to supply people. When you're in areas that (on average) range between 15" and 30" of rainfall a year...well, you get the picture.

Sure...you can get cheaper hay in the "wetter" parts of the USA... however, the hauling costs can easily equal or exceed the actual cost of the hay, FOB Origin.

 

[DoubleK]

I'm always amazed when I read about folks in Missouri, Tenn. and elsewhere getting decent hay in large round bales for $20 or thereabouts. Couldn't get it for that price around here within the last 12 years, even in the best of times. DoubleK, you'd love making hay down here. Could get around $18 to $20 to cut, rake & roll on nice, flat as a pancake ground with no rocks. Might have to slice through a few fire ant mounds though.

Hey Arnold, is that an invite, cuz I'll take you up on it. We don't have any fire ants here but the hornets are always trying to get in the cab with me. I wouldn't know how to act on flat smooth ground, sure would like to try it once.

Dub

 

[Stepper]

I have been paying $15 for good fertilized, sprayed and cut at the right time, bailed right bemuda grass hay. 5 x 5 bails. Up until last summer and the farmer i was buying it from said he was going to have to go up to $17 dollar's a bail this year. And i just hated to see it go up that much.

But after reading what allot of you fella's in other state's have to pay for hay. I guess i dont have any reason to complain. The only problem we are starting to have here is that more and more people are buying their hay. And you can not count on people to fill your order because they are tring to supply hay to so many customer's. That is why i decided to buy my own equipment and bail my own. A lot of these guys you buy hay from want's to fill your hay order a little each cutting. And for the last two year's they were not able to come up with all the hay i asked them to supply. I think in the future people who buy their hay are going to have more and more problem's getting their order's completly filled.

 

[poorboy12]

Hi, I am in KY and we had a veery dry summer. You can tell if it is going to be dry by spoty rainfall I always heard. Anyway called a good buddy who bales and sells a lot in June of 06 and locked in a price of 15.00 per bale plus delivery he says don't worry I'll have plenty and so thought my troubles were over. Started counting bales and figured could get to the middle of March on what I had on hand in Jan., so called my good buddy and lo and behold he is suddenly out of hay in January. Course hay is then going for 25 to 35 bucks and you pickit up.

All I got to say is I will never get in this situation again and I hope that my good buddy can get Walmart to accept a few bales for whatever he needs in the future. By the way found a farm manager whose owner was going out of business and ended up buying enuff at 15.00 delivered to get me thru.

 

[MikeJoel]

Around here we get hay from a dairy that sells a 600lb roll for $15. It is the same hay they use. We have a 30 mile drive to get it at that price but it is worth it if you consider that for the same amount right in our area is about $60.00 (and that is in bales). I admit though the square bales are stored in barn.
But the guy's bales only weigh 29lb each... I though that 40-50lb was the standard for a square bale.

So for about $10 in gas and $15 a roll (if you were to just get one) would be $0.042/lb compared to $0.10/lb.

I guess it is all part of the country your in.

Michael

 

[alabama]

Just use $63 an acer for fertelizer and 3 bales to the acre first cutting. Then $30 an acre for second fertelizer applaction and again 3 bales to the acre. Just fertelizer cost is $93 for 6 rolls. Or $15.50 a roll. Now add in fuel, equipment and time. $30 a roll is cheap. And if you lose a cutting to rain you are just sunk.