Cost of hay where you are?

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Hi all! So, I’m sure most of you know, from my ‘name’ that I’m in PA.....well, I’ve been talking a bunch to @The_V's because they raise mini pigs, and we’ve got to talking about other stuff...imagine that! . Anyways, she in in the very bottom of southern CA...very dry, no grass, all sand. I am , well, it’s been snowing and hailing for the last six days days straight here now. A muddy mess until ?June? So, my farm nat grows Timothy hay. We will...when it Ever becomes growing season...Reseed for mixed grasses....

Currently I pay
$3.50/bale...Timothy
$3.50/bale...mixed grasses
$8.00/bale straw
$16.00/bale alfalfa...plus 68 miles away...we don’t buy it

my mixed grasses bales are super light, but, not $3.50 so we don’t complain. Plus they are delivered

i figure once we hay ourselves...the new bales will be worth at least...$1,000/ bale to us! I don’t think it’s worth it but we’re going to give a go!

@The_V's pay
$16/alfalfa
$18/bermuda
$18-20ish?/mixed grasses
$35/Timothy!!!
$5-8/straw..depends on color?

i was telling about the Timothy being important for the bunnies and the wethers and bucks.....that’s how the price topic came up! Crazy prices from coast to coast. Made me curious to see what everyone pays?

 

[promiseacres]

hay in Northern Indiana is generally
$4-6 for grass mixes (pure timothy would be higher)
$5-8 for alfalfa mixes
straw $3-4
that's a normal year. I've seen hay in March/April for well over $10/bale or after a bad season. If I have to buy I generally am happy with $5/bale 50# bales.

 

[Baymule]

What size bales are these? The size and weight has a lot to do with price. We buy Bermuda grass round bales that weigh 1500 pounds for $60. Our hay guy stores them in his barn and brings them to us. We buy not so great grass square bales in the field that weigh around 60-80 pounds for $4. We buy the square bales for the in between times like now, when tractors are out in the fields, to tide us over for a few days to a week until he gets a tractor home. Russell is going to venture into square bales this year from a beautiful stand of Bermuda. We will pick up in the field, price to be determined, but probably $6-$8. They will be 60-80 pounds.

Feed store price for same square bale is $11, at Tractor Supply price is $12-$14 for square bale.

In 2011, when there was a terrible drought, we had over 2 months of 100+ degrees heat. The heat and lack of rain scorched everything and there were terrible fires across the state. Trees died, beautiful old oak trees and pine trees died. Grass will come back in a season, but trees like those take 75-100 years to grow. During that time, hay was trucked in from other states. Round bales went from $125-$250 per bale. Ranchers sold down to their very best core genetics, some sold out. People dumped horses at the sale barns, they were shipped to Mexico for slaughter. We were lucky and found a source of hay for $80 a round bale. Truly, a barn of hay is wealth that only people with livestock can understand.

 

[D and L Meadows]

Southern Ohio for a 50# bale is around

$6 for grass hay
$7 for Alfalfa/orchard
$13 for pure alfalfa from MT

Hoping we have a better hay year this year than last year! So true Baymule!!! It sure is wealth if you have a barn full of hay!

 

[thistlebloom]

I buy it by the ton. If memory serves my grass/alf (80/20) mix was $180/ton which came out to about $7 bale for 70-80lb bales.

The alf/grass (80/20) mix was a bit higher, $195, but most bales have been more like 90% alf, and it's beautiful stuff. 90 to 100lb bales.

I pay $4 bale for oat straw from the farmer, it still has a lot of heads in it and the mustang will browse through it, so I put out an extra hay net to entertain her.

Wheat straw goes for about $8 bale from the feed store, they are larger bales than my oat straw. Some feed stores were charging $10 bale around fair time.

Last summer I was getting low on hay and our hay delivery system (neighborhood co-op) got delayed so I went to the hay broker and bought a ton of timothy for $265. It was supposed to be premium, but the only thing premium was the price. Even the mustang dawdled over it and she is usually an eating machine.
This last hay season I bought enough to overlap hay seasons by 2 or 3 tons, so I won't have to worry if there's a hiccup.

 

[The_V's]

Hi all! So, I’m sure most of you know, from my ‘name’ that I’m in PA.....well, I’ve been talking a bunch to @The_V's because they raise mini pigs, and we’ve got to talking about other stuff...imagine that! . Anyways, she in in the very bottom of southern CA...very dry, no grass, all sand. I am , well, it’s been snowing and hailing for the last six days days straight here now. A muddy mess until ?June? So, my farm nat grows Timothy hay. We will...when it Ever becomes growing season...Reseed for mixed grasses....

Currently I pay
$3.50/bale...Timothy
$3.50/bale...mixed grasses
$8.00/bale straw
$16.00/bale alfalfa...plus 68 miles away...we don’t buy it

my mixed grasses bales are super light, but, not $3.50 so we don’t complain. Plus they are delivered

i figure once we hay ourselves...the new bales will be worth at least...$1,000/ bale to us! I don’t think it’s worth it but we’re going to give a go!

@The_V's pay
$16/alfalfa
$18/bermuda
$18-20ish?/mixed grasses
$35/Timothy!!!
$5-8/straw..depends on color?

i was telling about the Timothy being important for the bunnies and the wethers and bucks.....that’s how the price topic came up! Crazy prices from coast to coast. Made me curious to see what everyone pays?

I was wrong about the straw- its 8 dollars new and free to 5 dollars if its old. other than that yes you got our prices spot on

 

[Grant]

Straw $4
mixed grasses $4-6
alfalfa/orchardgrass $6-8
alfalfa $7-9

We had a light winter so if you want last years hay they want it out of their barns and in yours. Prices are definitely on the low end of that scale. I filled my storage space a few weeks ago. I also have the ability to help out a guy run some equipment and get paid in hay that they will store, I haul. In a couple of days working I can pay for my winter needs for $0 out of pocket.

 

[Mini Horses]

All over the place with cost here. Most specialty is brought in -- some dealers sell by weight, others by bale. While the cost "per bale" may sound higher if you say 3 bales @$60 the weight tells the tale. I will pay $20 for 65-70# bale of tested hay faster than $12 for a bale of 40# "maybe" stuff. Quality hay requires less pounds per animal to satisfy their nutrition.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I get coastal hay square bales for 9 dollars round bales are 65-80 dollars and alfalfa square bales are 16$.

 

[Simpleterrier]

It just depends.on who u know. Small square mixed 3 to 7$ a bale round bales 35$ to 60$ a bale