# Alfalfa prices



## SarahFair (Jan 16, 2012)

I was wondering how much alfalfa is going for in your area. 
Its going for around $8-16 for small square bales around my area


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## jodief100 (Jan 16, 2012)

WOW!  I thought the $4 a small bale it is going for here was bad.  That is 40-50 lb bales.  Where are you and how big are the bales?  

These threads are great in that we can all get an idea of what is going on where.  

I got mixed grass from my hay guy for $3 and alfalfa for $3.50.  I think that is because I have been a regualr customer for years and buy 200-300 bales.  CL has been showing $4-$5 for alfalfa or mix and $4 for mixed grass. 

I saw alfalfa bales in TS for $16 for a tiny little bale, about 20 lbs and wondered who on earth would pay that?


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## SarahFair (Jan 16, 2012)

Tractor Supply was the tiny bales for $16...
I haven't seen one bale bought.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jan 16, 2012)

$5.00 a small bale


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## RamblingCowgirl (Jan 16, 2012)

$8-$10 for 60-70lb bales. It is all shipped in from other states to here in NE Oklahoma
It's around $6 for grass mix


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## KellyHM (Jan 16, 2012)

I wish alfalfa was that cheap here!  It's $16+ for a 40 lb bale.    Peanut hay is around $13 and coastal is around $7.  Sigh...


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## elevan (Jan 16, 2012)

SarahFair said:
			
		

> Tractor Supply was the tiny bales for $16...
> I haven't seen one bale bought.


Yeah, that's what TSC charges here too.  But a 40# bag of alfalfa pellets is $11 and doesn't result in any waste.


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 16, 2012)

Huh!! You guys thinnk you got it bad??

 Round here, you cant touch a bale of all alfalfa for under $20.00 a bale! They weigh around 110 pounds, 3 string bales. 50/50 alfalfa and orchard grass mix bales cost the same.

Animals that require hay are very expensive to keep here, if you are feeding them anything high quality, that is. I cant buy it by the ton, even that is too expensive anyways...


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## Sinistershelly (Jan 16, 2012)

Im in Colorado and for your average small bales, today I paid
6.99 for straw
11.99 for grass
12.99 for alfalfa
12.99 for mixed

and in case ya wanted to know, my bag of grain was 19 bucks


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## ThornyRidgeII (Jan 17, 2012)

just want to pipe in on those small looking bales of alfalfa at TSC.. I picked one up before I lost my doe a couple weeks ago.. and well let me tell you just how compacted they are.. now granted 14.99 is steep, however, there is a ton of alfalfa in there.. and boyeeeee.. not one lick of it has went to waste.. I cut the top part of the package  off and the placed it in a container and the goats go to town on that sucker every night when I let them out in the barn.. figure a splurge now and then is not that bad.. seeings to how my goats were very spoiled on alfalfa/grass/heavy on the alfalfa hay.. until this year when I found really good timothy grass/clover which they like but they porkers love their alfalfa.. and quite frankly I was impressed how compacted that bale was..


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## SheepGirl (Jan 17, 2012)

At Petsmart, they sell alfalfa "mini bales" that weigh 24 oz which cost $4.99. That is $1.50 per pound. WAYYY expensive! I always think of how much people without a source of hay get robbed every time they purchase hay in packages like this.

Prices for hay at the Westminster Hay Sale/Auction are:
Alfalfa: $5.10-$7.60/bale
Alfalfa mix: $4.20-$7/bale
Timothy: $4.60-$8.90/bale
Timothy large square: $40/each
Timothy mix: $2.55-$6.60/bale
Grass mix: $2.60-$8.10/bale
Grass mix round bales: $35-$57.50 each

Don't know how much bales weigh, but they all likely weigh at least 35-40 lbs. Sometimes we are able to get hay cheaper direct from a farmer, but only if we buy big lots. And since we only have a few sheep now and only need a few bales at a time, it costs $5 per bale for a small bale that weighs ~35 lbs (about $0.15/lb).

ETA: The bales at TSC that I've seen go for $16-18 weigh 50 lbs, which is about $0.32/lb. Not too good of a price, but better than Petsmart.


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## CrazyCatNChickenLady (Jan 18, 2012)

I got a full bale of alfalfa at the local feed store (N. California) for $19.99. I was pretty shocked since I haven't gotten hay since last year. They were running pretty low too. Its probably 100+ lbs. I can probably find it cheaper out in the farming and orchard towns nearby and will do that next time. I don't think I'll go through it that fast though and it's indoors too.


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## ragdollcatlady (Jan 18, 2012)

I paid 16.50 I think for the last couple of bales, but around now we creep up to 18 or 19 since supply gets low. We are in central california.


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## ksalvagno (Jan 18, 2012)

My hay guy charged $6.50 per square bale (about 60 lbs) and it didn't matter if it was grass, grass/alfalfa mix or alfalfa. He actually told me that grass hay takes a lot more because there are no stems and it takes more acreage to make a bale of grass hay compared to a bale of alfalfa hay. His grass hay is beautiful grass hay though and not one stem in it.


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## KinderKorner (Jan 18, 2012)

Wow I almost feel bad for complaining about my hay prices. 

I'm paying $3.50 for grass, and $4 for alfalfa. 45# bales. Not real great stuff, just average.

I think thats crazy though, because a couple years ago I used to get it for $2.50 a bale for like 70# bales. 

I can't imainge paying $10+ a bale. 
 I can barely afford the animals now, no way could I afford them at that price. Horses eat a ton!

I live in prime hay country, and I have trouble locating good hay. I'm sure its worse in the dry states. eek. 

I pay right around $10 a bag for grain. 50#


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## 77Herford (Jan 18, 2012)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> WOW!  I thought the $4 a small bale it is going for here was bad.  That is 40-50 lb bales.  Where are you and how big are the bales?
> 
> These threads are great in that we can all get an idea of what is going on where.
> 
> ...


OMG I would kill for those low prices.  Luckily I use mostly my own hay but do buy Alfalfa bales for the Goats and they are around 80 pound square bales and cost from 10 -16 dollars a bale.


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## Vumani (Jan 18, 2012)

I live in southeast Idaho and bought alfalfa hay for $6.00 a bale for 65# bales just this last weekend.  It was high quality hay certified weed free and very leafy.  Last year I could buy the same thing for $3.00 from the same farmer.  I am hoping this next year goes back down as obviously many of you do!


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## Chirpy (Jan 18, 2012)

Wow also!   Some of those prices are great... wish it was that way around here.

Alfalfa small bales (a person can lift themself) are $10 to $12.   You can find some for a little less if you buy by the semi load.

Grass and grass/alfalfa mix small bales start about $9 and go up according to quality and size of load also.

I'm thrilled that I shared a semi load last summer and got my alfalfa bales for $6 each.  I've got plenty to get me through the winter and even sell some to help with bills.


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## kayzee (Jan 30, 2012)

I'm in Southern Arizona, the last small bales of Alfalfa we bought were 18.50 per bale.  There's not a lot of land devoted to alfalfa, and it takes a lot of water, but they grow it almost year 'round and cut it nine times a year...seems like that might take the price down a little, but that's just wishful thinking.  We don't have any pasture here, this is strictly desert, so what we feed is what we buy.


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## mama24 (Jan 30, 2012)

We don't even have alfalfa for sale anymore around here. Hay goes for $3-4 a small square bale from a farmer, $8 at the feed store, right now. When Alfalfa was still available in early fall, it was $8 from a farmer and $12 at the feed store.


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## dhansen (Jan 30, 2012)

I liven Northern Ca near the Sierras....
Alfalfa at the feed store is $18.99 for a 110lb bale.
Fortunately, I bought my alfalfa from a farmer about 100 miles away awhile back for $12.
So glad I no longer have horses because they eat a lot!


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## Mills1950 (Feb 14, 2012)

Living in drought stricken Texas we are lucky to get any hay at all--- so far alfalfa is still available coming in out of state.  Alfalfa here is $26 a large bail---c100 lbs--- coastal hay of good quality is about the same----round bales of coastal $150++++++ the same hay I would have not paid over $30 early last year...   Hopefully this year will be better


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## PotterWatch (Feb 14, 2012)

Around $18-$20 for alfalfa here.  I just paid $23 for a bale of orchard grass


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## EggsForIHOP (Feb 14, 2012)

Mills1950 said:
			
		

> Living in drought stricken Texas we are lucky to get any hay at all--- so far alfalfa is still available coming in out of state.  Alfalfa here is $26 a large bail---c100 lbs--- coastal hay of good quality is about the same----round bales of coastal $150++++++ the same hay I would have not paid over $30 early last year...   Hopefully this year will be better


EXACTLY!  I gave up on alfalfa hay back in May...went to pellets then and free choice "coastal"...which is mostly weeds, sticks and stems at $11/square bale since July and so fine it floats away at $15/square bale with LIMITS of 3  - 5 bales at most feed stores around here...NUTS!  We moved this summer and are WAY too far from all of my good "old connections" for hay...so I've had to wing it through the winter and pray for a better year coming up (which they say we are NOT going to get...)

If I hadn't been so busy packing I would have been putting up hay....I regret moving if ONLY for that reason as it left me with no place to store enough hay and no time to get a truck load in here anyways...I'm lucky to have a good feed store fairly close with no limits and decent hay...but PRAYING for a better spring and summer this year!


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## mama24 (Feb 15, 2012)

I finally found some local alfalfa. They will deliver for $1 per mile. Organic alfalfa, only comes in 950-1000lb bales for $200 plus delivery cost. They're about 30mi from me, and I don't have a truck, so I'd have to have it delivered. I think I'm going to do it once I find a place to store it. Very reasonable price, imo, especially since it's organic. What is an RFV value? It says this on their website: "They have an RFV value of 170, and contain 21 to 22% protein." I looked it up, but I'm not sure I understand. I know that means it's prime quality. So does that mean it's so rich, I should be careful not to feed too much and give them less than half the alfalfa in their hay allotment?

I only have 2 goats. It might not be economical for me to buy this, but I am trying to switch to organic feed for all of my animals. :/ How long does alfalfa hay keep? This is probably enough for more than a year with only 2 milk goats, but they are pregnant does due next month, so I expect my number of animals to at least double soon.  More if I end up getting another doe. I want a Nubian. I think I might have GAS. lol


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 15, 2012)

It's about 8-12 bucks for a small bale.


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## Teeah3612 (Feb 15, 2012)

Wow! I can't believe some of the prices you all are paying. I just moved to my farm with two horse, two goats, and a rabbit that all need hay. I am so blessed to have a gentleman farmer less than a mile from my new home that sells me square bales for $3. He won't even let me help him load it on my truck.  He offered last week to sell it to me off the field next summer for even less. I'm loving this country life.


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## CrazyCatNChickenLady (Feb 15, 2012)

Teeah3612 said:
			
		

> Wow! I can't believe some of the prices you all are paying. I just moved to my farm with two horse, two goats, and a rabbit that all need hay. I am so blessed to have a gentleman farmer less than a mile from my new home that sells me square bales for $3. He won't even let me help him load it on my truck.  He offered last week to sell it to me off the field next summer for even less. I'm loving this country life.


I need to go find me a gentleman farmer friend!!


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## hcppam (Feb 17, 2012)

About $20 for a heavy bale here, planing on buying a years worth (2 Nigerians) with my tax refund. You know the price will go up with the gas prices, that might reach $5 a gal this summer.


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