# Hay prices



## Alaskan (Jul 13, 2017)

PLEASE someone make me feel better about bleeding through the nose to pay for hay.


For me, local, picked up from the field the day it is baled, Timothy standard square bale is about $7

Really nice fertilized, low to no weeds local Timothy is $9 per bale.

Just found out that if I have to get non-local, it will cost me $16 each.  

Again for a standard square, Timothy or brome, same price.

How much does everyone else pay for hay?  (Dang, crazy coyote yapping in the distance....always stressed they will bust into my coops)


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## Baymule (Jul 13, 2017)

Timothy wouldn't survive Texas heat, we have Bermuda and Bahia hay. In the field, fertilized square bales currently are $6 for 70 pounders. We buy 1200 pound round bales for $40 to $50 each. Then we pay an extra $10 for our hay supplier (and friend) to store them in his barn and bring them to us one at a time. We just bought 19 bales and have 11 from last year. We over bought last year, but that's ok, we are set for the year now.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 13, 2017)

You don't wanna know lol but i will say sorry i pay less...but we do make our own hay.


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## Green Acres Farm (Jul 13, 2017)

Coastal hay here is currently $8, Perrenial Peanut is $12 for 40-60 pound bales. Big bales are $60, but are often left out in the rain at the feeds store, so we rarely buy them.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 13, 2017)

It is looking like prices are going to go up, pretty stiffly this year....so stock up early.


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## Mini Horses (Jul 13, 2017)

Weather has everything to do with supply.  I have hay raised directly across the street from me, a neighbor 1 mile up raises it there & a few other fields, including his own farm.

Nice hay, from his barn @ $6, about 50#.  Now, I rarely buy it because he does use chemicals for weeds.   This affects the manure used for garden and placed into my fields.   Instead, I travel about 50 miles for non-chem, has a few weeds, nice hay.   Squares $7-8, 7-800 lb rounds $50.  

Of course, you always take their word for the "no-chem" but, this guy does organic as much as possible, so I feel pretty ok with it.    

Now, when I buy alfalfa for the goat does, that breaks the bank.   MOST often, I have to resort to pellets instead because of the lack of really good, not over matured/dry bales available.   There's probably chemicals there, too.   Just feel most often chems are more used in the grass fields.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 13, 2017)

It's exactly opposite. Alfalfa is chemically treated way more often then a grass field would be, at least for any hay from the North. People who treated grass hay up here would be laughed out of the county.


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## Goat Whisperer (Jul 13, 2017)

We feed a variety. 

We can get round bales from our neighbor for $25. It's not great hay, it's more to keep the goats busy. 

We can get large 800# squares of orchard for $100 or a large 900#-1100# bale of alfalfa for $180

I just picked up some small squares of alfalfa last weekend, weighing from 70-75# (I weighed them)
A few might have been pushing 80#. Those suckers were heavy  But the price was great, $13 and the hay so far has been very nice. 

I picked up some really nice, super soft orchard that the goats just loved. Bales weighed roughly 47# and were $9 each
Picked up some more orchard, bales about the same size (haven't weighed them yet), not as nice quality but still good, for $9 each


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## Alaskan (Jul 13, 2017)

Fun to see how things are different in different areas.

I hadn't ever heard of peanut hay before.

Where I live, down on the Kenai Peninsula, the season is so short and cool and often rainy, that usually locals only get one cutting.  Rarely can they squeeze in a second cutting.

Up further north in Alaska, and further inland  (or at least further away from open ocean ), they actually get heat.  They grow most Alaska crops.  Hay, carrots, and potatoes.


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 13, 2017)

I normally buy coastal Bermuda for $45 per 1200 lb round bale for the 2nd cutting
That's all gone now
Been getting 1st cut fescue for $30
Can get alfalfa sometimes for $12 for squares
Just bought 5 squares of 2nd cut Timothy/ Orchard from NY for $10


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## Alaskan (Jul 13, 2017)

OneFineAcre said:


> I normally buy coastal Bermuda for $45 per 1200 lb round bale for the 2nd cutting
> That's all gone now
> Been getting 1st cut fescue for $30
> Can get alfalfa sometimes for $12 for squares
> Just bought 5 squares of 2nd cut Timothy/ Orchard from NY for $10


How big are those squares?


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## goatgurl (Jul 13, 2017)

I mostly feed round bales, i'm very fortunate because the neighbor bales the hay on dstr#3's property and we split the bales.  he brings me two bales at a time all thru the winter for free.  has been a great deal for the last 10+ but since she is selling the land my free hay will soon come to an end.  ahhh well, all good things must come to an end. I also buy 50 - 75 square bales to put out in the barn if the weather is bad and they stay contained.  also give square bales to the buck in his pen.  I pay $5-$7 a bale delivered and stacked in my barn.  mostly just a good grass hay that the girls like.


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## casportpony (Jul 13, 2017)

At our local feed store 100-110 pound bales are :

Alfalfa - $17
Oat - $14
Grass - $20
Straw - $8


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## Alaskan (Jul 13, 2017)

casportpony said:


> At our local feed store 100-110 pound bales are :
> 
> Alfalfa - $17
> Oat - $14
> ...



Crazy to me...that your grass hay is more than the alfalfa.  Wild.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 14, 2017)

That's werid to me too. I suppose if it was in an area with a high horse population, high quality grass hay would be worth more then alfalfa.


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## greybeard (Jul 14, 2017)

Last year, paid about $55-$60/ton for Bahia/Coastal mix.


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## casportpony (Jul 14, 2017)

Alaskan said:


> Crazy to me...that your grass hay is more than the alfalfa.  Wild.





misfitmorgan said:


> That's werid to me too. I suppose if it was in an area with a high horse population, high quality grass hay would be worth more then alfalfa.



I think it might be because of where it's grown/not grown? I think I remember someone saying something about it being trucked in from Oregon. I'll ask the hay guy the next time I'm there.


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## babsbag (Jul 14, 2017)

Grass hay is more here than Alfalfa and has been that way for at least 8 years. I don't buy it.

I buy alfalfa 1200-1400 lb bales for 160.00 and 100 lb bales for 13.00. (might be more now). I only buy the small bales if I have someone doing chores for me. I can buy wheat hay for about 9.00 for 100 lb bale but feed it primarily to my chickens and occasionally to my does and never to my bucks so I don't buy it very often.


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## mysunwolf (Jul 14, 2017)

Here in Southwest VA, with our 150 day growing season, grass hay is $3-4 small square bale, anywhere from a 30lb bale really dry and loose, to a 80lb bale packed really dense. I buy or trade from friends and neighbors, so I can't be too picky.

Square alfalfa is $6-9 bale.

For a 4x4 round bale $25-$30, 4x5, $30-$40, 5x5 $40-$60. All these prices go up for fertilized, sprayed (fewer noxious weeds), alfalfa/clover/timothy/orchardgrass mixed in, nutrient tested, delivery etc. 

I have a feeling prices must really vary around the country!


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## RollingAcres (Jul 14, 2017)

I bought a square bale of compressed Alfalfa for $18. We'll be calling to get prices very soon as we want to be prepared for winter. So far the cows have just been grazing out in the pasture. I'll post with pricing once I find out.

@OneFineAcre could you please let me know where/who in NY you bought the bales of Timothy/Orchard from in NY? I'm in upstate NY, would like to check out that place as well. Thanks!


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 14, 2017)

Alaskan said:


> How big are those squares?


Never weighed them. 60-65 lbs maybe.


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 14, 2017)

RollingAcres said:


> I bought a square bale of compressed Alfalfa for $18. We'll be calling to get prices very soon as we want to be prepared for winter. So far the cows have just been grazing out in the pasture. I'll post with pricing once I find out.
> 
> @OneFineAcre could you please let me know where/who in NY you bought the bales of Timothy/Orchard from in NY? I'm in upstate NY, would like to check out that place as well. Thanks!



I buy it from a local hay and feed store.  He buys it by the tractor trailer load.  If he is selling for $10 he must be getting for maybe $7 transported from NY to NC.
I will ask him where he gets it from.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 14, 2017)

Commonly atm in northern Michigan
2016 1st cut grass hay small square $1/bale
2016 2nd cut grass small square $3/bale
2016 alfalfa small square $4-5/bale. 

2017 1st cut grass hay small square $3-4/bale
2017 5x4 rounds grass $20-30
2017 5x4 rounds alfalfa timothy $30-40/bale

The 2017 prices are already up and not much hay around up here atm.


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## greybeard (Jul 14, 2017)

mysunwolf said:


> I have a feeling prices must really vary around the country!


Yep, and depends on the availability in any given year.
I saw 900 lb round baled junk hay sell for over $110 each in 2011 and they had folks lining up to get it. Round baled rice straw trucked in from La. was selling for close to that and they had no problem selling that either.
long term drought will do that..so will a very wet spring and summer.

Horse people and goat people were lined up at the local feed stores and TSC and paying $15-$17 for 35-40lb square bales shipped in from somewhere in 18 wheeler box trailers and it was the dustiest, weediest hay I ever saw.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 14, 2017)

greybeard said:


> Yep, and depends on the availability in any given year.
> I saw 900 lb round baled junk hay sell for over $110 each in 2011 and they had folks lining up to get it. Round baled rice straw trucked in from La. was selling for close to that and they had no problem selling that either.
> long term drought will do that..so will a very wet spring and summer.



Thats the problem here, the wet. I keep telling everyone locally to go buy 2016 hay and stock up for winer right now. They all kinda nod and go ok but dont do it cause prices are still "lowish" atm. As soon as hay goes up locally to $5-9 for small squares they are going to come crying to me to sell them some cheaper hay pretty please and DH already said we are not.

We had a drought up here in 2011 and 2012, people were mowing and baling the ditch grass and selling it for $9/bale and people were buying it like hotcakes. DH sold 2,500 small bales for $12/bale and round bales of garbage full of weeds and junk were selling for $60 each.


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## greybeard (Jul 14, 2017)

misfitmorgan said:


> Thats the problem here, the wet. I keep telling everyone locally to go buy 2016 hay and stock up for winer right now. They all kinda nod and go ok but dont do it cause prices are still "lowish" atm. As soon as hay goes up locally to $5-9 for small squares they are going to come crying to me to sell them some cheaper hay pretty please and DH already said we are not.
> 
> We had a drought up here in 2011 and 2012, people were mowing and baling the ditch grass and selling it for $9/bale and people were buying it like hotcakes. DH sold 2,500 small bales for $12/bale and round bales of garbage full of weeds and junk were selling for $60 each.


I believe that for sure MM. 

(wet ground and grass is a problem right now here as well)


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## Alaskan (Jul 14, 2017)

That is usually the problem up here too....too much wet


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 14, 2017)

We've had a pretty decent year for hay.  We had good rain in the spring but then enough dry weather to bale the first cut.
Since the first cut we've had adequate rain so the 2nd cut should be good too.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 14, 2017)

You might be fine in NC OFA, but if they decide to truck out hay to other places with higher prices or truck in hay from higher priced places the prices there could go up. Over all there is likely to be a shortage this year because of the screwy weather.  We have been watching fields as big as 40 acres get rain on  and wash out the hay that was cut.


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## Eliya Sage (Jul 14, 2017)

I get some orchard grass down at Farmers feed & seed for $8. It's Timothy grass and Orchard grass mixed, but our seller always calls it "orchard grass" So that's what we call it. Highly recommend it, but, I'm not sure if it's the seller or the seller's supplier, but it seems to get some straw in it... I hate when i find straw in it and i wish it wasn't in there, seems like a waste since the goats don't eat it, but i guess since 2 grasses can grow right next to each other, unnoticed, i guess it's inevitable.


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## babsbag (Jul 14, 2017)

Hay prices didn't change much during the drought. Prices went up maybe $2.00 a bale at the feed stores and not at all from the broker I buy from.  Alfalfa is always irrigated here, we don't depend on rain to grow the hay. And since our summers are dry baling is usually not an issue. On a rare occasion the first cutting might have to get squeezed in between a few storms.


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## Alaskan (Jul 14, 2017)

Eliya Sage said:


> Should i do something, or stay out of their business?


 I think you could say something,  AFTER you are done buying what you are there to buy.... and then say it in a super kind non-judgemental kind of way.

Like "It sure is difficult to find a good farrier now a days.   I noticed your horse is in need of a trim, do you want the number of my farrier?"


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## Goat Whisperer (Jul 14, 2017)

Eliya Sage said:


> Also, they got this miniature horse that has some dreadfully long shoes, and last time we went they hadn't taken care of it. That was about a month ago. If i go tomorrow and they haven't fixer her hooves, What should i do?
> -They take great care of their other animals and the miniature horse seems fine except for the hooves. They are nice people and i'm sure they don't mean to leave her hooves like that, but i'm not sure why they'd leave her hooves like that... I read they get like that Fast, maybe they where just busy last time i went and where about to do it. If not, Should i do something, or stay out of their business? (I'm not sure it'd be an option to stay out of their business, when it comes to animals that may need help, my nose is stuck in it and doesn't seem to come out until it's resolved.)
> -They are *NOTTTT* abusing their animals, they are all healthy and very happy. I'm just worried they don't have enough time to trim her hooves, and even though animal neglect is a serious problem and frankly if anyone does that, in my eyes,  they might as well be satan,  i'm not sure what they're doing is necessarily neglect,  i can't think of a proper term.


Truthfully I think you should stay out of it. 
You say the animals are happy and healthy
They are not abused
How much do you know about horses?
How long have you worked with horses?
How long have you owned horses?
Is the horse lame? 
I don't know horses, but I haven't heard of "long shoes". 

Do you know how long they have had this horse? What if this horse is a rescue? With goats anyway, when the hooves are severely overgrown you take it off slowly. 

Have you seen the hoof care of of large goat herds vs the backyard pet goats? It varies. 

Is this really your business to get into?
If the animal are not suffering and are healthy and happy it's not. 

I say this because there have been times when we brought animals in that were having a rough time. One doe had severely overgrown hooves. It took almost a year to get them looking normal. When I brought the doe home we had our vet our immediately to sedate her to get a good evaluation. The does bones were shifted and we had to do anitbiotic wraps on the feet. Why she was so bad? The owner was taking care of a dying parent and had been trying to place the herd. She was also running a horse farm, the stress was so bad she had shingles in her lungs. Our doe was the worst of the herd. The owner was was mortified when I showed her. 
But you know what we did? We helped find homes for the animals. We didn't call AC on her. She was able to place the whole herd and everything worked out. 

If you think something is wrong, have you ever asked if they needed a hand? Ever offer to help, ask how you could help? 
Lending a hand can be far more useful than not having the guts to say anything and hide behind AC. 

Why would you say something after you buy?  

I guess I'm old fashioned in that aspect. If someone needs help, lend a hand. If you don't like something, say it to their face (as long as it's safe) If you are concerned, express it. 

Not trying to come off as a jerk but I see this all too often.


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 14, 2017)

Goat Whisperer said:


> Truthfully I think you should stay out of it.
> You say the animals are happy and healthy
> They are not abused
> How much do you know about horses?
> ...



Amen to that


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## Southern by choice (Jul 14, 2017)

Eliya Sage said:


> -They take great care of their other animals and the miniature horse seems fine except for the hooves. They are nice people and i'm sure they don't mean to leave her hooves like that, but i'm not sure why they'd leave her hooves like that... I read they get like that Fast, maybe they where just busy last time i went and where about to do it.





Eliya Sage said:


> Should i do something, or stay out of their business?





Eliya Sage said:


> I'm not sure it'd be an option to stay out of their business, when it comes to animals that may need help, my nose is stuck in it and doesn't seem to come out until it's resolved.)





Eliya Sage said:


> -They are *NOTTTT* abusing their animals, they are all healthy and very happy. I'm just worried they don't have enough time to trim her hooves, and even though animal neglect is a serious problem and frankly if anyone does that, in my eyes, they might as well be satan, i'm not sure what they're doing is necessarily neglect, i can't think of a proper term.



Recently I mentioned something to someone I know that I have RELATIONSHIP with about hooves... this person is new to goats and is learning hooves. I knew the person, love the person and know the character of the person... there was no accusation, no underlying "issue", and no judgement. My mention did not offend them. 

I think sometimes it is how you go about it as well as how experienced and knowledgeable with livestock you are.
Too many busy bodies out there that have no clue and don't mind their own business yet cause issues for others because of some self righteousness.

There was a woman that had her sheep on a dry lot because of parasite issues. They had feed and hay but no grass- the dry lot was for a reason. Some idiot called AC because the sheep had no grass.
Another farm had the fly masks on their horses. Again, some dolt calls AC because they have "hoods covering their eyes and face". SMH!
Another with a 30 year old horse that looked rough- No CRAP- it's a 30 year old horse but some busybody drives by and thinks the horse is too thin.
Ever seen a 17 year old goat? 
Ever been on a 300 head sheep farm? 1000 head? Yeah those hooves get done once a year. 

I have a friend who took in a miniature horse and the horse is so crazy no farrier will touch it so it gets done when the horse can be sedated and that you can't do all the time.

If you are that concerned extend yourself and help if you are not willing to do that then MYOB!


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## Baymule (Jul 15, 2017)

We once bought a donkey with hooves so long, they were curled up. It took over two years to get his feet right again. Even after getting them trimmed-which took a long time-his front feet turned in. At any time during his recovery time, someone could have seen him and called in on us. That would have really incensed me.


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## Eliya Sage (Jul 15, 2017)

Southern by choice said:


> Recently I mentioned something to someone I know that I have RELATIONSHIP with about hooves... this person is new to goats and is learning hooves. I knew the person, love the person and know the character of the person... there was no accusation, no underlying "issue", and no judgement. My mention did not offend them.
> 
> I think sometimes it is how you go about it as well as how experienced and knowledgeable with livestock you are.
> Too many busy bodies out there that have no clue and don't mind their own business yet cause issues for others because of some self righteousness.
> ...


yikes.... i had no idea asking for advice on this subject was so tense.... i'll ask if they need any help.....

by the way, i didn't mean i wouldn't stay out of it as in, i would contact AC, and freaking sue them, i meant, i wanted to get involved with the horse, try and go over there, maybe find a way to nicely say, your horse needs some help, if you don't mind, maybe i can help out.


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## Eliya Sage (Jul 15, 2017)

Goat Whisperer said:


> Truthfully I think you should stay out of it.
> You say the animals are happy and healthy
> They are not abused
> How much do you know about horses?
> ...



........well this'll shut me up. If i'd known how tense this subject was i'd never said a word. I did come here so not to get the owner in trouble before i got advise............  guess in a way, that was advice.......

I don't understand. One minuet if you see an animal who may be suffering, it's, gather advice and move forward, the next,  it's mind your own business....  All i know is i went over, their horse hooves where oddly long, it didn't look comfortable, seeing it made me feel sick, So i came back, and asked. I do not know a single thing about horses, thats why i asked.

next time i'm over there i'll ask to lend a hand......................................................................................................................................



ok thenn... i'm gonna go delete that comment so to not attract anymore.. advice.


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## Eliya Sage (Jul 15, 2017)

Alaskan said:


> I think you could say something,  AFTER you are done buying what you are there to buy.... and then say it in a super kind non-judgemental kind of way.
> 
> Like "It sure is difficult to find a good farrier now a days.   I noticed your horse is in need of a trim, do you want the number of my farrier?"


Nice way of putting that, thank you, I'll try that, or something like, "I love helping out local farms, Hey, maybe if you gave me some tips for horse shoes, i could save ya'll some time and come and cut your miniature horse's shoes?"


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## Eliya Sage (Jul 15, 2017)

I feel bad for taking this thread a whole different direction... here, maybe this will put it back on track...



umm, What is your favorite hay? Do you mix it with other hay?


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 15, 2017)

@Eliya Sage 
I don't think the responses were "tense"
I think they just suggested that there may be more going on than neglect and that you should keep that in mind in what you might say to the people


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## Alaskan (Jul 16, 2017)

Eliya Sage said:


> I feel bad for taking this thread a whole different direction... here, maybe this will put it back on track...View attachment 36731
> umm, What is your favorite hay? Do you mix it with other hay?


My favorite hay is super inexpensive, mold free, dust free, and magically stacked in my barn.  

I mix it up though.... by staying in reality.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 17, 2017)

Eliya Sage said:


> ........well this'll shut me up. If i'd known how tense this subject was i'd never said a word. I did come here so not to get the owner in trouble before i got advise............  guess in a way, that was advice.......



We have a lot of very nice people here who do take care of a lot of different animals that have been neglected or had their owners fall on hard times or are just really ancient and most of us have been on the other end of people being nosey whether it was calling AC or simply implying that the animals we were trying to help were being neglected. Even people implying your neglecting animals when your trying very hard and doing your best to help that exact same animal does in fact make most people very angry. I think everyone is just trying to let you now to be careful in how you address the issue. If you dont know a lot about horses they can look uncomfortable, our halflinger always looked uncomfortable....because we had grown more used to looking at goats/sheep then horses but the farrier was out so often he would only charge us $5 sometimes because all he had to do was file his hooves a bit. Older/any horses can also just be sore and standing in what looks uncomfortable but is comfortable for them. Imagine if you had spent several hundred or even thousands of dollars to help a single animal and someone came over and implied you were neglecting that animal....you would be upset.



Alaskan said:


> My favorite hay is super inexpensive, mold free, dust free, and magically stacked in my barn.
> 
> I mix it up though.... by staying in reality.



That is everyones favorite kind....well ok mine is all of that but free too!


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## RollingAcres (Jul 17, 2017)

Eliya Sage said:


> What is your favorite hay? Do you mix it with other hay?



Free hay is my favorite but no free hay here. Free grass, yes but will have to buy hay.
I finally called some farms to get pricing for hay around here.
1st cutting hay (Timothy/grass mix, a little bit of alfalfa mixed in) - $4.5 - $5/bale (55 Lbs bale)
2nd cutting hay - $6/bale

I read that 2nd cutting is usually alfalfa, so should not be fed to beef cattle.


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## greybeard (Jul 18, 2017)

Lots of alfalfa is fed to beef cattle. The only reason not to, is alfalfa generally has more protein than beef cattle need and some of it is wasted if not limit fed @ about 5-7 lbs per day as a supplement to grass hay. It'll really pack the lbs on steers and keep the mommas in good condition even in winter.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 18, 2017)

Thats the reason alfalfa is grown up here is for cattle. Most diary barns only feed alfalfa up here esp in winter when it is really cold out. They feed silage and stuff as well but dry hay is alfalfa.


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## RollingAcres (Jul 18, 2017)

I do currently feed them some dried alfalfa once or twice a week (they graze out in the pasture). I kept reading about bloat and being new to cattle, I'm just being weary and careful about it. I know alfalfa is good for them, better than grass hay.


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 18, 2017)

Just dont put a mountain out there for them and they should be ok. My grandparents and my uncle had 120 head of diary cattle and they had alfalfa round bales in feeders 24/7 but preferred their pasture a lot.


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## RollingAcres (Jul 18, 2017)

Update on hay prices: Round bale (4ftx4ft) is $45 each from one of the farms near me.


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## Alaskan (Jul 18, 2017)

RollingAcres said:


> I do currently feed them some dried alfalfa once or twice a week (they graze out in the pasture). I kept reading about bloat and being new to cattle, I'm just being weary and careful about it. I know alfalfa is good for them, better than grass hay.


Not necessarily better.... it depends. 

Dairy animals are producing such a crazy amount of milk, they need super high nutrition. 

However,  a regular beef cow that is lactating would do great on good pasture and range only.

Cattle are actually made to work very well on lower nutrition feeds.

Except for when you want them to pack on fat, alfalfa would probably be wasted on beef cattle.


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## casportpony (Jul 23, 2017)

Here are the current prices for 100-110 pound 3 wire bales in my area. The grass/alfalfa said $18.95 under the tag.


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## Alaskan (Jul 23, 2017)

casportpony said:


> Here are the current prices for 100-110 pound 3 wire bales in my area. The grass/alfalfa said $18.95 under the tag.
> View attachment 37011


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## farmerjan (Jul 23, 2017)

We have had a fairly wet early spring/summer and had some trouble getting hay made but are done with first cutting.  Due to the over maturity of some of it, being stalkier than we like but had some nice green 2nd cutting coming up through it,  and the easy winter and early warm temps, there is hay available everywhere.  We get $35-50 for 5x5  or 5x6 round bales of orchard grass mix usually has some fescue in the fields.  For our 3 pure orchard grass fields that are fertilized we get $40-60 for 4x5 round bales that are net wrapped and $4-7 for small squares that weigh in the 45-55 lb range.
Alfalfa is rolled or chopped for silage and later cuttings are mostly made in small squares, $7-8.00  and the large squares that are 3x6 or 4x7 or so are 125 to 175 ea.  We don't see the old 3 wire 100 + lb bales that I used to get when I lived in Ct and hay came from Canada alot of times.  Most dairy farmers here are the ones that get/make /use the real big squares....they weigh 6-1,000 lb all according to size.
  We sell about 2,500-3,000 small squares to some regular horse customers we have had for years. They mostly want 2nd cutting as the hay is a little finer stemmed.  We did get all our 1st cutting orchard grass made dry and only one field of grass hay got about 2/10th  of a rain shower on it then it was tedded out and baled in good dry condition.  We sell about 100-250 round bales a year on average but on years when it has been dry we have been known to have people lined up begging for it too.  We also will often buy hay from friends and feed it and use a couple of our hay fields for rotational pasture where we have fences. 
We deliver all the small squares to the regular customers we have, although they mostly all help to unload.  Extra .50 per bale delivered and we try to take about 200 on the flat bed gooseneck trailer.  In fact have 3 customers that are about 50-60 miles away and one can only hold about 50 bales in storage so we combine the 3 and all are happy with the deal.  At least 2 get hay at a time so it is worth our time to take a full trailer.

Now have a llama customer who gets about 50 small squares at a time, delivered about 20 miles away.  $7.00 bale but they are picky so we make sure the hay is clean with nothing but orchard grass.  Have one guy with a couple of horses that we deliver round bales and put in his field if he is out of town for work in the winter or just deliver 2 at a time and he can move with his small loader tractor.  Close by to deliver with the truck with the "bale bed". 
We have had some trouble with johnson grass in one field, the cows love it and is only a problem if stressed or frosted with the prussic acid, but we feed any of that to our own animals.
Most of our first cutting is round baled but we did about 500 small squares this year for someone who wanted 1st cutting orchard grass.  We also did about 150 squares of wheat strawy/hay with the grain in it for bedding and the animals can pick through it.  Didn't do any grain as the wheat was a nurse crop for the orchard grass planted late last fall.  
All the barley was done as hay, made it dry didn't have to wrap any since the conditions worked.  

We have about 500 big round bales left from last year so bush-hogged one field this week as high as we could, to knock off the dry tops and the thistles and weeds and turned the cows into it to graze.  Doing the same in 2 other fields that we would cut for hay and the cows won't go there until after hunting season.  Hope to have grazing there nearly  all winter this year unless the snow gets too deep.  This will just put the dry matter back into the soil and feed the microbes, and earthworms, and improve the organic matter and save on the fuel and wear and tear on the equipment  when we don't need the hay.  We have lost 2 pastures and 1 hay field this year but are still way ahead.  Never know what the weather will bring next year so try to be thinking ahead and be prepared.

Had some major trouble with the big round baler and my son was saying maybe we just should stop trying to fix and buy a new one.  A "plain jane " 5x6 NEW round baler is $ 35,000.  HOLEY MOLEY  nope, spent about 1,000 and repaired and replaced some stuff....just replaced the discbine mower last year over 22,000 but we did get 10,000 on the old one as a trade in.  But with the number of acres we do in a year we can't be "broke down" for a long period of time and the old one was needing some serious replacing of parts as they just get worn out.

You might think that hay is expensive, but the equipment to make it is too.  And another thing, getting help to make small square bales of hay is a real challenge.  Kids don't want to work, don't want to get hot and sweaty and not be able to play with their phones and stuff.  There are different pieces of equipment made so that you can get the hay put into square "pods" and another grabber that will pick it up and put it on a trailer, in lieu of  manual help....... but that stuff costs big time too.  And anything mechanical breaks down..... so repair costs are high too.   And then there is the weather as you all know we can just put in our order so we get rain and sun when we want....


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 24, 2017)

New balers or any fashion are not cheap. A buddy of ours just bought a brand new (but from 2015) hard heart new holland round baler and paid 37k for it....because he got a "deal".

I've seen around here round balers from the 70s still selling for over 2k easy, square balers from the 60s with broken needles for around 1k.

No kidding on the labor part we were offering $14/hr and free food to come and help do square bales and we couldnt get a single person under 30 interested. So we paid those guys but this is not good at all because they are gonna get older just like we are and then who is gonna do the hay? 2 yrs ago we had a guy who was 57yrs old come and help with hay and man did he work good.


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## greybeard (Jul 26, 2017)

I loaded, hauled and stacked  tons of sq bales for a nickle a bale (and less) when I was a teenager.
Hot dirty, dusty fields and even hotter and more dusty barns and even old houses to stack it in. Ants, skunks and snakes in the bales, sometimes a fawn's leg sticking out, all those thorns and briars in the prairie hay that used to be baled out at Tarkington and Atoscosita..

But, I wouldn't trade those days for anything...


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## Alaskan (Jul 26, 2017)

Uh...


Wowsers


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## Farmer Connie (Jul 27, 2017)

misfitmorgan said:


> New balers or any fashion are not cheap. A buddy of ours just bought a brand new (but from 2015) hard heart new holland round baler and paid 37k for it....because he got a "deal


Last year we were trying to buy local and in bulk. I hooked up with a guy on craigslist and drove out to meet him. We were prepared to buy 7 round bales of coastal. That is a fair price here where we are, actually a deal.
But when I asked for break if I bought 10, his tone changed. He pointed at all of his tractors and implements and said_.._

_. I COULD HAVE BOUGHT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX FOR WHAT I OWE THE BANK FOR THIS STUFF. YOU GET THE BANK TO GIVE ME A BREAK, AND I'LL GIVE YOU A BREAK_..


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## Alaskan (Jul 27, 2017)

Yeah, equipment cost is high


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## misfitmorgan (Jul 28, 2017)

I think a lot of that depends on how many current hay buyers a person has and if the hay is already a good deal or not. If hay is the normal price or high most people are more likely to give a deal on bulk. I dunno how it is down there but here you get no discount at all unless your buying 20-25 rounds at a time or about 600 small squares at a time.


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## Alaskan (Jul 28, 2017)

Oooh!  To have barn space for 600 squares


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## farmerjan (Jul 29, 2017)

Farmer Connie said:


> Last year we were trying to buy local and in bulk. I hooked up with a guy on craigslist and drove out to meet him. We were prepared to buy 7 round bales of coastal. That is a fair price here where we are, actually a deal.
> But when I asked for break if I bought 10, his tone changed. He pointed at all of his tractors and implements and said_.._
> 
> _. I COULD HAVE BOUGHT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX FOR WHAT I OWE THE BANK FOR THIS STUFF. YOU GET THE BANK TO GIVE ME A BREAK, AND I'LL GIVE YOU A BREAK_..



I can sympathize with the hay guy.  Because we have that same kind of money in our equipment and then the fuel and time to run it and the repairs that inevitably come along too.  We have done some dealing with regular customers that buy in bulk if they pick it up... but never for less than 30 or so round bales.  The square bales we don't do much discount on unless they come when we are baling, load it off the wagons themselves so that we can reuse the wagon  right then.  Even though we have a kicker that puts the bales into the wagons, we still stack them so that they keep their shape if they don't get unloaded right away,  and we can get more on the wagon if they are stacked.  So if people come get the hay while we are baling, and get a wagon emptied, it is one less we have to pull down to the field and one less to have to take back to the barn for storage. And have had different ones offer to help when they are there so we give them a break too.  There is no real benefit to hay in bulk, for the farmer making it.  Costs the same per bale whether you are making 100 or 1000.  Just takes alot longer to pay off the equipment if you are only making 100.


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## AClark (Aug 8, 2017)

The only way we get a break on hay is if we pick it up out of the field, or buy a LOT of it, way more than 10 bales, usually 20+ of the big bales, and 3+ tons of alfalfa. I pay $40 a bale for coastal bermuda round bales. It's not the best, but the goats don't mind the weeds and the horses leave them. Plus the horses tend to scatter it on the ground and then they won't eat it, so we fork it up and use it for bedding for the chickens and rabbits. The rabbits chew on some of it, but once it's been on the ground and wet, it's mostly bedding. It actually works out well and saves me from buying bedding separately at $9 a bale for straw or $9 for a brick of wood shavings.


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## Bossroo (Aug 8, 2017)

Sounds like you are bringing in all type  ??? of weed seeds onto your property !


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## Baymule (Aug 8, 2017)

The weed seeds will sprout, grow and the goats will eat them.


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## Nao57 (Oct 4, 2020)

Goat Whisperer said:


> We feed a variety.
> 
> We can get round bales from our neighbor for $25. It's not great hay, it's more to keep the goats busy.
> 
> ...



I'm curious... if the quality of the hay is not that great, do the animals end up eating more to compensate? Or what is the effect on the animal side? Do they just look slimmer? Or even get sick more? (I guess it would depend on the animal.)(And I mean lower quality hay but not moldy bad or spoiled hay.)


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## Nao57 (Oct 4, 2020)

This thread seems interesting because there were major price hikes in 2019 and 2020. 

It will be interesting to get new hay bale price figures now. 

(And a bit maddening too.) 

It seems like the hay price stayed really stable right up until about 2016? Although there were a few hiccups after the mortgage meltdown I expect.


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## Grant (Oct 4, 2020)

Depends on what you mean by quality.  If you’re talking protein % then you need to supplement that more.  If your talking weedy, it really depends. Some animals will eat it fine, others not so much. As long as we aren’t talking about horses, the hungrier they are, the more likely they are to eat weedy hay....but then some animals prefer the weeds.  So go figure.


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## farmerjan (Oct 4, 2020)

The price spikes also are usually regional.... mostly weather related.  When that horrible drought hit Texas back in 2009 or 11 ????  You were looking at prices of $100 per roll or more.... BEFORE trucking costs... Many sold out or sold way down to try to salvage the core of their bloodlines for holding on to breeding stock.  In the Northeast there is a growing hay shortage.... bad year up there.... hard to find at semi-reasonable prices... @rachels.haven  is having a tough time getting her barn filled.

@Grant  is right about the hay.  You pay for quality and that means type and protein content... you can feed a lesser quality and supplement with grain to a point.... they will eat more if it isn't junk/trashy/weedy.... although some do like some of the weeds.  But there is a limit of quantity that any of them can eat.... and if it is poor quality, they will suffer nutritionally as they will not be able to eat the quantity necessary to get the nutrition out of it, unless you supplement with grain of some sort.  
But if you have real rich/high protein  hay, you have to be careful as then they can get too much "quality" and not enough quantity without causing  digestive upset/scours/diarrhea/acidosis;  without them consuming enough "bulk" /fiber for the gut tract to operate properly either...
Hay is plentiful here in Va this year and most is decent quality.  We have made nearly all our hay with no rain.  Early hay was short and we were concerned... but then we got some decent rain... and some was way over mature, but had some good 2nd growth coming up in it.  We make a good bit of 1st cutting in rolls for the cattle, they can use some lesser quality when feeding the dry cows.... and they will pick through the hay in the rolls.  A good bit of 2nd cutting is made in sq bales and we sell a portion of it to several long standing customers.... mostly for horses, one or 2 llama people.  Sell some rolls for cattle hay when asked.


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## Nao57 (Oct 5, 2020)

The reminder that you are trying to hit protein content amounts was useful. Somehow that slipped my mind again. 

It is interesting to hear about this. 

Last year when Nebraska had all that flooding there was a significant price jump for hay right then. At the time it settled I'm not sure it went back down completely.


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## Nao57 (Oct 5, 2020)

Is the second cutting of a hay crop, later in the year after the first typically as much protein content as the first cutting's protein content?

It should be similar right, but then the amount of sun exposure closer to fall is probably slightly less, so I wonder if that can edge the numbers apart a bit.


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## promiseacres (Oct 5, 2020)

Nao57 said:


> Is the second cutting of a hay crop, later in the year after the first typically as much protein content as the first cutting's protein content?
> 
> It should be similar right, but then the amount of sun exposure closer to fall is probably slightly less, so I wonder if that can edge the numbers apart a bit.


Here in Indiana 2nd cutting grass hay is usually in July, and expected to be the best highest quality cut. This year it wasn't.... not for us.  Not enough rain. We also can usually get 3 cuttings on grass, 4 maybe 5 for alfalfa fields.  Many people wouldn't buy first cutting as it's usually taller, stemmed and less protein. After last few years and higher prices most people aren't as picky. I have seen hay for $2/ bale up to $13 recently. Low Quality weedy hay vs auction prices. That's for 50ish lbs squares.


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## Baymule (Oct 5, 2020)

We got hay coming! We are buying 20 rolls of coastal bermuda for $55 per roll. We are set for the winter now. Russell was texting me pictures of the field as they were cutting, beautiful grass.


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## Nao57 (Oct 5, 2020)

promiseacres said:


> Here in Indiana 2nd cutting grass hay is usually in July, and expected to be the best highest quality cut. This year it wasn't.... not for us.  Not enough rain. We also can usually get 3 cuttings on grass, 4 maybe 5 for alfalfa fields.  Many people wouldn't buy first cutting as it's usually taller, stemmed and less protein. After last few years and higher prices most people aren't as picky. I have seen hay for $2/ bale up to $13 recently. Low Quality weedy hay vs auction prices. That's for 50ish lbs squares.



Very interesting. 

Thanks for explaining. 

That's neat that you can get that many cuttings in a year.


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## farmerjan (Oct 5, 2020)

First cutting is usually lower protein.  The plant is growing fast and furious,  in the race to get to the stage of bud and seed production.  There is "NORMALLY", more moisture in the early stages of growth.  The hay/grass is more "water" than nutrition so to speak.  It gets stalky faster as the plant is trying to get fast growth for the seed production.  There will normally be more fiber.  It can be very difficult to get a good balance in first cutting as it will head out fast and if there is a prolonged wait due to rain, the quality quickly drops.  
In alfalfa it is very stemmy for first cutting.  Most alfalfa here is chopped first cutting for "silage or actually called haylage.  It ferments and makes a very good feed as long as it is tested and the ration is balalnced.  
2nd and 3rd cutting alfalfa is less stemmy, and very good protein...
 We do not grow alfalfa due to working other jobs and not being able to always to get it made when it needs to be.  According to the condition of the land.  we normally make 2 cuttings of hay here, sometimes we get 3 cuttings.  But it has to be optimal conditions to get the first cutting off early enough.....and our weather often has something to say about that.  We make alot of orchard grass.... and mixed grass/pasture hay.  The 2nd cutting of most grasses will be more nutritious, if it gets a decent growth pattern and water/rain, and the ground is well fed.  The blades are "softer"  and will dry well if the air is not  humid.  It is our preferred hay for calves for digestibility and willingness to eat it.


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## Niele da Kine (Oct 5, 2020)

I'm not sure what variety of hay is at our local feed store, it's the small square type of bale, probably the 50-55# bales and it's $38 per bale so we don't buy any.  The bunnies would probably like to eat hay, but they have to make do with fresh forage which we have available all year long.  

Nobody is currently producing hay on this island that I know of, although several years ago I saw a small round baler.  Not sure who's it was or if they're still using it, though.


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## mysunwolf (Oct 6, 2020)

Niele da Kine said:


> I'm not sure what variety of hay is at our local feed store, it's the small square type of bale, probably the 50-55# bales and it's $38 per bale so we don't buy any.  The bunnies would probably like to eat hay, but they have to make do with fresh forage which we have available all year long.
> 
> Nobody is currently producing hay on this island that I know of, although several years ago I saw a small round baler.  Not sure who's it was or if they're still using it, though.


 
You can technically make "hay" from anything. In ancient times in Europe, "hay" was grass mounds delicately trellised, but also piles of branches with the leaves still on them. This also provides nutrition in the form of the bark (of course, they were also feeding goats in addition to cattle). 

So if you have a scythe, or even just hedge trimmers, you can cut forage, dehydrate it, and save it for later.


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## Nao57 (Oct 6, 2020)

mysunwolf said:


> You can technically make "hay" from anything. In ancient times in Europe, "hay" was grass mounds delicately trellised, but also piles of branches with the leaves still on them. This also provides nutrition in the form of the bark (of course, they were also feeding goats in addition to cattle).
> 
> So if you have a scythe, or even just hedge trimmers, you can cut forage, dehydrate it, and save it for later.



Wow. 

That's a neat idea. 

I actually like it when we can do that. We don't actually own something until we can make the whole process ourselves. 

So its frustrating if you have animals but you have zero control over what's happening with markets and hay prices, and they are going up a lot with no bounds. 

It feels good to be making stuff also. I haven't tried making hay yet. 

But the feeling of making and setting up fencing and shelters was really great, especially with the thought of 'now I can control the process more to what I want and need'. 

Thank you very much.


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## Niele da Kine (Oct 7, 2020)

Niele da Kine said:


> There's a few scythes around here, one with a really long grass blade on it, although the shorter blade works better on the grass around here since a lot of our grass is more like bamboo than grass.  So we could make hay, but keeping it from mildewing would then become the next problem to solve.  The bunnies can just eat fresh greens since that's like hay except not dried.  Fresh has gotta have the same nutritional value, shouldn't it?
> 
> But, this is a topic about the price of hay.  The feed store does sell hay around here, but I think it's brought in from the mainland so it's expensive.


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