Setting on their hay

[Alan]

My part of the country had a hay shortage last year, I know this is not new for other areas. For a couple of months I was paying $180 to $200 per ton for cow hay, usally it runs about $60 per ton. I was lucky enough to have already put about 17 ton in the barn at $60 per ton for this year, but have room for about 4 more ton. Everyone is haying like crazy here, but not one ad in our local paper. I called some of my past suppliers and they all said the same thing; last year they got almost $200 per ton and they're not going to sell any until this winter when people start running short and start to panic.

Tough position to be in, I'm trying to figure out what I would do in their shoes. What happens if the hay shortage isn't as bad this year, do they get stuck with 2 year old hay and not hay next year? As a guy who doesn't produce my own hay, I hope they get stuck with the hay, just irritates me a bit. Maybe some of you guys to that have been through this already or produce local hay can tell me your thoughts and what this cycle (hopfully a cycle) will do in the next couple of years.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[vs_cattle]

Well that sucks I wish I could by good hay at $60 a ton right now Im paying 160+

 

[oscar p]

Last year. I bought 25 rolls (4x5) of what I call, Snowball Hay.(beats feeding a snowball) For $18 a bale. Bought it just in case. This year the guy called and ask if I needed any hay this year. I ask how much? He told me $40 a bale. Same crappy hay, off the same field, no fertilize. Just snowball hay. I told him Hail no. We've had rain every other day lately, hay is every where. The guys hay is still setting in the field, and is in every classified ad in town. I Hope he has to keep it.

 

[M.Sarria]

Yes sir Alan, here in SW Washington last year I paid 60 a ton and this year they want 160 a ton? and I see hay all over? but what do I no am new to the cattle business.

 

[Frankie]

We've had a wonderful spring and summer. There's hay setting in fields everywhere. But the guy who called us with hay for sale was asking almost the same as we paid him last year when hay was hard to come by. It's better hay than we got last year, but his cost to bale it has gone up considerably because of fuel prices.

We haven't bought any hay. We've got so much grass that we think we can graze standing grass through most of the winter and just supplement with cubes.

So many people sold off their herds last year (or culled hard), if we need hay in Jan/Feb/Mar, I believe it will be available.

 

[Tod Dague]

Is there anything else you can feed? I quit feeding hay when the prices went through the roof except for the hay that I get in barter type deal.

 

[Bez+]

Is there anything else you can feed? I quit feeding hay when the prices went through the roof except for the hay that I get in barter type deal.

Straw works well.

Just be sure there is mineral and lots of water on hand - if you do some research you will find it has a surprizing amount of protein in it.

Fed our whole herd for two years on straight straw - including calving seasons.

Everyone ignores this feed it seems.

They not only will eat it - the older it is the more they like it.

Bez+

 

[KNERSIE]

Is there anything else you can feed? I quit feeding hay when the prices went through the roof except for the hay that I get in barter type deal.

Straw works well.

Just be sure there is mineral and lots of water on hand - if you do some research you will find it has a surprizing amount of protein in it.

Fed our whole herd for two years on straight straw - including calving seasons.

Everyone ignores this feed it seems.

They not only will eat it - the older it is the more they like it.

Bez+

never underestimate the value of straw, supplying a proteien lick with the straw is advisable.

If your cattle are real fussy eaters you can dilute molasses 1/10 and spray the straw with a rucksack sprayer. It bumps up the energy value significantly.

 

[Bez+]

Is there anything else you can feed? I quit feeding hay when the prices went through the roof except for the hay that I get in barter type deal.

Straw works well.

Just be sure there is mineral and lots of water on hand - if you do some research you will find it has a surprizing amount of protein in it.

Fed our whole herd for two years on straight straw - including calving seasons.

Everyone ignores this feed it seems.

They not only will eat it - the older it is the more they like it.

Bez+

never underestimate the value of straw, supplying a proteien lick with the straw is advisable.

If your cattle are real fussy eaters you can dilute molasses 1/10 and spray the straw with a rucksack sprayer. It bumps up the energy value significantly.

You are correct about the protein - forgot to mention it - prevents compaction.

Good catch K!

Bez+

 

[KNERSIE]

Is there anything else you can feed? I quit feeding hay when the prices went through the roof except for the hay that I get in barter type deal.

Straw works well.

Just be sure there is mineral and lots of water on hand - if you do some research you will find it has a surprizing amount of protein in it.

Fed our whole herd for two years on straight straw - including calving seasons.

Everyone ignores this feed it seems.

They not only will eat it - the older it is the more they like it.

Bez+

never underestimate the value of straw, supplying a proteien lick with the straw is advisable.

If your cattle are real fussy eaters you can dilute molasses 1/10 and spray the straw with a rucksack sprayer. It bumps up the energy value significantly.

You are correct about the protein - forgot to mention it - prevents compaction.

Good catch K!

Bez+

I've seen too many droughts, it seems.

 

[bward]

What would it cost for you to ship Hay out of Alberta? New hay around here is 40 bucks a roll for about 1350 pounds. Their is oodles of it up here. :|

It wasn't too long ago I remember paying 115 a ton and that was a bit painful. Now I have too much and no place to store it.

 

[TheBullLady]

That's a shame that producers will take advantage of a drought to "spike" their hay prices, but it's not unusual. We were in a drought the past two years, so we've lived it firsthand.

A new hay buyer I can understand more.. but personally I think it's bad business to "gouge" a steady customer! If you've bought hay from the same supplier, I really think he owes you a decent price. Now I'm not saying he shouldn't increase it some, but he has to figure that when there is plenty of hay again, if you get mad and go somewhere else he won't have any customers left.

 

[Bez+]

What would it cost for you to ship Hay out of Alberta? New hay around here is 40 bucks a roll for about 1350 pounds. Their is oodles of it up here. :|

It wasn't too long ago I remember paying 115 a ton and that was a bit painful. Now I have too much and no place to store it.

I do not know the shipping costs, but the folks from Florida and places like that are hitting eastern Ontario pretty hard right now - taking the bales out of the field.

Bez+

 

[dun]

Something to consider about people sitting on hay is taht many of them have also suffered with drought. They may realize that just because they got some rain this year, any dry spell will hurt any future cuttings this year.

 

[ArrowHBrand]

It's a shame there are people out there that will take advantage of an already bad situation. We are still trying to nail down big rounds so I'm not really current with the prices. We've also supplemented with cornstalk rounds sprayed with the molasses mix KNERSIE advises for straw. We got ours at the local co-op. Shredded beet pulp can also be used as a hay extender, but not replacer. I don't know what bulk price would be since we only feed it to show stock.

 

[mnmtranching]

Straw in this area is same per ton as med quality hay. Trucking is the same except not as many tons per load. Right now hay is high, but if we have moisture Aug Sept I expect the price to come down.

 

[LFF]

I don't like the cost of high priced hay either, but lets look at it from a different angle. Suppose that the feedlots and packers have a very bad shortage of beef from the previous year. Would you as a cattle supplier price your calves cheaper because of their need or would you expect them to pay a much higher price just so you can make more money? I believe that the supply and demand principles will take some time to adjust , and I expect higher hay prices than proir years to be normal in the future. I don't see how we as beef producers can supply the packers with calves at the current cost of production and make any money for our efforts. A normal profit for the average farmer is about 100 dollar per cow, you can forget any profit at the high hay cost that is being mentioned.

 

[Bez+]

I don't like the cost of high priced hay either, but lets look at it from a different angle. Suppose that the feedlots and packers have a very bad shortage of beef from the previous year. Would you as a cattle supplier price your calves cheaper because of their need or would you expect them to pay a much higher price just so you can make more money? I believe that the supply and demand principles will take some time to adjust , and I expect higher hay prices than proir years to be normal in the future. I don't see how we as beef producers and supply the packers with calves at the current cost of production and make any money for our efforts. A normal profit for the average farmer is about 100 dollar per cow, you can forget any profit at the high hay cost that is being mentioned.

I hear that 100 bucks tossed around a lot.

I do not believe it has been that high for many years now.

On a per case basis some may be higher and some lower - but on a national scale I believe it would now be less than 50 bucks.

Bez+

 

[Stepper]

I have learned from reading on this forum that here in my area we have been very fortunate to buy hay cheap for alot of years now. And still today it is possible to get it very reasonible.

By reasonible i mean you can still go out and buy 4' x 5' and 5' x 6' bales of pretty good cow hay for $15 a bale off of the feild and even out of the barn during the winter. If you know where to look and it was not up until a couple of years ago you did not have to look very hard to find it.

But alot of people here are going up on there prices. Now $18 to $20 a bale is the going rate. And there are more and more farmers who wont sale for less that $30 to $35 a bale. And this is times when there is plenty of hay.

And the reason for that is not because it cost a little more for desil to put this hay up. It is just that there is just so much work and time in putting the stuff up farmers are wanting to make a little money for their time and labor for messing with it.

I think there are more & more people relying on buying their hay today than there were 4 or 5 years ago. And to there are more people with smaller herds of cattle where it is not feasible for them to buy the haying equipment to bale their own hay.

So there is more of a market for hay, so farmers can get more for it. I have people all of the time wanting me to custom bale hay for them. But i am not going to get into custom baling. There is not enough money involved in custom baling to pay for your time you have in it. Let alone the ware and tare on your equipment.

I always put up plenty of hay for myself and usually have quite a bit left over and up until now. I have always sold or more less give away my excess hay for cheap prices. But from here on out if i can not get $30 dollars a bale for it. I wont sale it. I will find some use for it if nothing more than to fill in ditches or low spots in my feilds.

 

[JHH]

My part of the country had a hay shortage last year, I know this is not new for other areas. For a couple of months I was paying $180 to $200 per ton for cow hay, usally it runs about $60 per ton. I was lucky enough to have already put about 17 ton in the barn at $60 per ton for this year, but have room for about 4 more ton. Everyone is haying like crazy here, but not one ad in our local paper. I called some of my past suppliers and they all said the same thing; last year they got almost $200 per ton and they're not going to sell any until this winter when people start running short and start to panic.

Tough position to be in, I'm trying to figure out what I would do in their shoes. What happens if the hay shortage isn't as bad this year, do they get stuck with 2 year old hay and not hay next year? As a guy who doesn't produce my own hay, I hope they get stuck with the hay, just irritates me a bit. Maybe some of you guys to that have been through this already or produce local hay can tell me your thoughts and what this cycle (hopfully a cycle) will do in the next couple of years.

Thanks,
Alan

I dont have much info on the CYCLE of things but I do think that it works like that. I also feel your pain, It irritates me to. Not much we can do.

On another note I was wondering how you came out on your A-I plan. PM me if you like. JHH