# Curious, what does a bale of good hay cost you?



## savingdogs (Aug 29, 2010)

I see so many hay prices on here, it amazes me that something can vary so much by area as to price.

I live in Washington state where you see hay growing everywhere. But good hay comes from the east side of the state and I'm on the west side. But hay varies anywhere from five a bale to fifteen a bale for good hay....I'm sure I could get some crappy stuff cheaper, but I was just wondering what people pay.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Aug 29, 2010)

I pay $5 a bale, and it has a lot of thorns in it......not good for my chickens


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## ksalvagno (Aug 29, 2010)

My hay cost me $4.50 per bale this year and I do get wonderful hay.


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## ohiofarmgirl (Aug 29, 2010)

i got a line on a guy who has really alfalfa-y hay for $4.... i'm fixin' to call him tomorrow for more


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## dianneS (Aug 29, 2010)

Are we talking about small square bales?  Like 40-50 pounds?  I paid $2.80 a bale last year for horse quality, really nice timothy hay.  This year the same guy wants $3.10 a bale.  Usually around $3-$3.50 for horse quality hay.  Alfalfa hay is around $5 a bale.  Large 4x4 round bales about 600 pounds are $30 for horse quality, stored inside, no rain.

I'm in south central PA and we have hay farmers everywhere.


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 29, 2010)

Last year I got a good bit of Max-Q (novel endophyte) fescue for $3 from a farm where I worked for a while.  I am still feeding that, and hope it lasts me through this winter as well.  Grass hay around here goes for around $4ish a bale.  I found some really nice alfalfa hay (second cutting) for $5 a bale, and it's gorgeous...nice and green and leafy.


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## ThornyRidge (Aug 29, 2010)

I have paid 2- 3 bucks for small crappy hay that I took back. I paid 4 for pure alfalfa (however very stemmy) and have found 2 new sources that are 4 bucks for mixed alfalfa grass with lots of alfalfa and very few weeds/thorns and big heavy bales- at least 45-50lbs!  seems if people around here started out good they have more hay than they know what to do with.. he is already on 4th cut and has made over 16,000 square bales... asked me how many thousand I wanted.. uhhhmmm I only feed 16 miniature goats so we were actually talking hundreds..  at least in my part of NE OH it is a good hay year.


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## nmred (Aug 29, 2010)

I'm in NW New Mexico and we have horrible soil where nothing grows! We  have absolutely no pasture, so everything we feed our goats has to be trucked in.  Hay comes from either Arizona or Colorado.  Good alfalfa goes for $8.50 a bale right now (it goes up to close to $15.00 in the winter).  We hope to stock up very soon to get us through until next summer.  I am sooooo jealous of all you guys.  You don't know how lucky you are.


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## mossyStone (Aug 29, 2010)

I am in Washington state too west side of the mountains.... Hay for me is any where from 10.50 to 14.50 a bale... You can get local hay any where from 5.00 to 10.00 a bale but my prima donna's wont touch that..spolied rotten girls...... But of course i milk and i want sweet milk so i wont feed them crapolla and they know it 


You folks who can get Alfalfa 3 or 4 cut for 4 to 8 bucks a bale are so lucky!!!!!



Mossy Stone Farm


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## Ariel301 (Aug 29, 2010)

nmred said:
			
		

> I'm in NW New Mexico and we have horrible soil where nothing grows! We  have absolutely no pasture, so everything we feed our goats has to be trucked in.  Hay comes from either Arizona or Colorado.  Good alfalfa goes for $8.50 a bale right now (it goes up to close to $15.00 in the winter).  We hope to stock up very soon to get us through until next summer.  I am sooooo jealous of all you guys.  You don't know how lucky you are.


Are your bales the bigger ones like ours are over here in Arizona? (3-string) 

My bales are around 100-120 pounds. Grass hay can go for anywhere from $5-13, Alfalfa is $6-15 depending on the time of year and the quality, and the quantity purchased. And it can be an all-day drive to get it, because very few people will deliver, and when they do, the delivery fee is something like a dollar a bale. In mid-winter here, hay will be either non-existent or not even edible, I learned that the hard way last winter, bought two tons in fall and had to throw it away because it was nasty moldy and the dealer would not admit it was that way when he delivered it (after dark and when I wasn't home...that seemed to be his delivery style, and now I think I know why lol)

The last stuff I got is 1500 pound bales of alfalfa that a neigboring ranch picks up, and when they go, they can get me a bale or two as well and drop it at my house on their way home. Those run around $100 and are good stuff, just a pain to break apart into goat-sized servings.


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## Beekissed (Aug 29, 2010)

Good, second cut hay with leafy alfalfa included is generally $4-$4.50 a bale here.  I can get coarser, stemmier first cut from $1.50-$2.50 a bale.


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## KinderKorner (Aug 29, 2010)

It's $2-$4 for normal good grass hay.

$2.50-$4 for nice alfalfa. These bales for 50-100 pounds depending where you buy them

I just got over 100 bales of good grass hay for $2 a bale. And I got 50 alfalfa good bales for $3. And I also got our field cut and got round bales for $15 each. 

I know it's cheap here compared to the rest of the country. But it still seems expensive to me when we go through so much.

I couldn't imagine spending $15 on a square bale. There would be no way to afford the 3 horses, and 20 goats I have.


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## cmjust0 (Aug 30, 2010)

I just paid $3.50/bale for really nice grass hay Saturday..  It's lots of timothy and clover with some orchardgrass, bluegrass, fescue, etc..  

Also bought a round bale for my bucks..  Same hay as the squares, so it's good stuff, and they're good and tight and he stores them inside...which is nice, not only for quality, _but for transport!_  Dry round bales are much, much lighter than wet ones...we actually put a 5'x5' round bale in the back of a full size 1/2-ton pickup and I was able to flip it out by myself.  Only cost me $25, too, which is pretty dadgum cheap..

The bucks are enjoying it.


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## tommboy1973 (Aug 30, 2010)

Wow, I'm jealous too. I'm in AZ and Bermuda hay is $8-10 a 100# bale and alfalfa a bit cheaper at $6-8 for horse quality. Last year prices were much higher so I was feeling lucky until I read this  LOL!!!


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## jodief100 (Aug 30, 2010)

I paid $1.50 a bale for decent mixed grass.  Lots of timothy, little brome, orchard and I am not sure what.  It was harvested last week and we haven't had rain in three weeks so I know it is dry.

The kicker was we had to get it out of the field.......  So 1 1/2 hours driving my truck in 1st gear around his steep sloped hay field, dragging bales over to the trailer and tossing them on.    Darling Hubby took the brunt of it, I drove.

It isn't the greatest hay and I would prefer something higher in protien.  I figured paying $150 for 100 bales I could buy about 25 bales of straight alfalfa, suppliment and still come out ahead.  Alfalfa is running $4.50-$5.00 a bale.  Mixed grass in the $2.50-$3.00.

Nicest part, it was 4 miles down the county road so I got all 100 bales in one trip.


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## Hollywood Goats (Aug 30, 2010)

tommboy1973 said:
			
		

> Wow, I'm jealous too. I'm in AZ and Bermuda hay is $8-10 a 100# bale and alfalfa a bit cheaper at $6-8 for horse quality. Last year prices were much higher so I was feeling lucky until I read this  LOL!!!


Me too!! I pay $10.00 for the Bermuda hay! and that is the cheap one the timothy is $15.00 a bale!


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## sammileah (Aug 30, 2010)

ok i'll stop complaining.   good "horse" hay is going $8.00 at sale barns.  i got weedy alfalfa for $4 a 50-60lb bale.   which is good price this yr. If i would have got 1st cutting  i could have gotten cheaper.   but central ia has had a lot of rain so prices are way up.


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## Ariel301 (Aug 30, 2010)

tommboy1973 said:
			
		

> Wow, I'm jealous too. I'm in AZ and Bermuda hay is $8-10 a 100# bale and alfalfa a bit cheaper at $6-8 for horse quality. Last year prices were much higher so I was feeling lucky until I read this  LOL!!!


I've noticed too that at least at the feed stores here, grass hay is more expensive than alfalfa, but in Colorado, it was the other way around. Weird.


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## ThornyRidge (Aug 30, 2010)

I guess I am totally gonna stop complaining about hay.. all I know is if I had the land and equipment I would totally make my own hay.. I am way too particular sometimes and would have my own special blend for my spoiled rotten goats too!  and then man I would ship some out west and undercut those seemingly ridiculous prices..  man alive I figured in some parts of the west there would be ample areas to make hay (with exception of AZ, NM and parts of desert west)  but geesh  do they put gold flakes in those bales..  heck people around here advertise round bales stored inside for around 15-20 bucks!    It seemed only a couple years ago I was getting 2nd and 3rd cut alfalfa with some grass mixed in for only 2 bucks a bale!  ONe of the farmers I deal with that makes really good hay ships semi's of it east- like to New York.. I may suggest sending some west!


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## michickenwrangler (Aug 30, 2010)

You can buy hay here in Michigan for anywhere from $1.50 a bale to $5.00 a bale depending on where and quality. Most hay around here goes for $1.50-$3.

However, MI hay is notoriously low in selenium and copper (but very rich in calcium and iron)

A number of farmers around here sell hay in AZ and FL


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## tommboy1973 (Aug 30, 2010)

Ariel301 said:
			
		

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It seems everyone here in AZ mostly feeds (and grows) alfalfa, but I find it makes my mare too fat and my gelding too hot, and they both eat it like candy!!!! My bermuda lasts much longer and I stretch it with a bermuda/alfalfa pellet from a local mill (cheap and easy to haul/store for me) and Manna Pro show glo (?) vitamins.


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## savingdogs (Aug 30, 2010)

I am so jealous! I don't understand why hay prices are so high here in Washington?


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## Araylee (Sep 3, 2010)

I'm on the other side of the state and this spring paid $15.00 for a bale of alfalfa that lasted two weeks for two doelings. When the alfalfa FINALLY came in, we paid $120/ton. I've seen it for $80/ton. I've also seen it for $180/ton. My hay was mostly alfalfa with a teeny bit of grass hay and a few weeds thrown in, but good leafy stuff. This spring was so, so, SO wet that a lot of farmers lost their crops.


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## PJisaMom (Sep 3, 2010)

I'm in West Michigan, and today I had 28 bales of what appears to be very yummy 3rd cutting alfalfa *delivered and stacked* into my barn for $100.  ($3/bale ~ paid a few bucks in delivery and tipped the college boys dropping it off...)

I thought that was a fairly decent deal...


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## chandasue (Sep 4, 2010)

Typically grass-mix is $2-3. I get nice alfalfa for $3 from a nice old guy. Usually alfalfa is $3.50-4.50.


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## savingdogs (Sep 5, 2010)

Wow! That is so much cheaper than here!


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## Ariel301 (Sep 5, 2010)

tommboy1973 said:
			
		

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I had the same problem with my mare, she would get hot AND fat! I would have to feed her so little on the alfalfa that she would be bored and hungry all the time. We don't have any pasture we could have put her on, she had to stay in her stall/run most of the time, so I felt bad for her. But eating tons of alfalfa made her super fat and unmanageable under saddle, and having to buy separate loads of grass hay for her was a pain...I will not have another horse until I can move somewhere there is some grazing room.


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