Thinking about quitting hay....

[snake67]

I have been kicking around the idea of pasturing my hayfields and buying hay and was wondering if anyone else has gone through the same thing. Right now 4x4 rolls are going for $15, and it takes five of them to get a cow through an average winter. I would have to haul it around 50 miles each way, but I have a pretty good single axle truck and trailer to haul it on. Money wise I would come out way ahead with the increased numbers of cows I could run, but what I want to know is how aggravating is it trying to buy hay every year? Is it any more aggravating than trying to get hay up and work full time? Thanks for any input.

Be careful about this

I have absolutely NO hay in the yard - winter is coming and hay is hitting 80 - 100 bucks a bale - buying does not always pencil out

Cattle prices are being driven down by the market being flooded with animals that cannot be fed

Always good to have some back up

I believe this might be the year all the girls hit the road - made it this far and even managed to survive BSE - but was droughted out and priced out - even fed out all the bales stacked as extra from many years back

Cheers

Bez

 

[Caustic Burno]

Bez being in drought condition's has changed the crystal ball.
The amazing thing since destocking profit per cow appear's to have skyrocketed. Now this depend's a lot on if you doing this for a living or as a small timer. Since going from 37 momma's to currently 15 my input's cost have went to almost nothing.
My fertilize cost is a lot lower as I fertilize my pasture's at a lower rate as I am not bailing and grazing them. My maint. cost has fell dramatically.
I figured it cost me 36 dollar's a roll when I was doing it. I can get my hay field baled for 25 dollar's a roll after fertilizing I am at 36 to 38 dollar's a roll.
Reduced my fertilize bill by several ton's
I have reduced my diesel cost by more than half.
Reduced my stocking rate from 1 to 2 acres to 1 to 4.
I see the drought as a real positive for me as it made me look at how to do thing's differently.
Now it is not the end of the year and the real number's are not in till then.
With today's price's on calve's and reduced input's it look's like my take home is going to be close to the same on 15 momma's as 37.
With a lot less work for me.
These are interesting time's.

 

[john250]

Several folks around here used to make some bales for sale. I think they have most all quit. Buyers won't pay what it costs to produce hay, and who can blame them. If land is capable of corn/beans it is worth $100+/acre. Fertilizer is through the roof, and good hay takes a lot of fertilizer. Diesel prices are also through the roof. Machinery prices the same.
I mowed 15 acres of weeds today for a good neighbor. They need some hay for roughage for their horses. The hay will have zero nutritional value, but they'll keep the horses fat on sweet feed until the money runs out. Hay has been a losing business over the last 10 years if you have to sell into the market.
Such hay as is available to purchase here is junk. A cow could starve with a belly full of it. My hay (and I'm bragging a little) is going into MY cows and calves and I'll either win or lose on the cattle market.
Like Jogeephus, I have a strict rule against gambling.

 

[James T]

If I could by rounds at $15 each, I wouldn't bale my own even if what I was buying was just so-so. I recently paid $70 for a 5x5 round of fertilized Jiggs so, if I could get my own grass going, I would bale it myself and the equipment would pay for itself.

 

[Fly-guy]

I've done it both ways. I found that it was impossible to have my own hay cut when it was ready. I have a reliable hay cutter now and so for the past several years I've just bought hay and used the extra ground to pasture more cattle up until last year when the drought (and health) forced me to downsize. I'm looking forward to next year because things are going to start looking up!

 

[larryshoat]

To each his own I reckon. There ain't no law that says if you stop and figure out that it's not working right that you can't start back again.

It always seems to me that the more of my own feed I raise the better off I am. That being said Ohio is not the same as Tennessee, or Texas or anywhere else, different areas require different strategies.

Larry