Hay Prices?!?!?! What are you paying?

[BellLisaMo]

Right now, prices here are still going up.
I was paying 11.25 a bale for alfalfa 2 months ago...

now... 13.75 for a bale of alfalfa (bout 102#).

Bermuda... i dont remember what i paid for that last time...

what are you paying?

I know this is due to gas prices, but heck!!! This is horrible!

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i dont pay $ for my hay.
i work in the summer baling and throwing square bales and moving and organizeing square bales.
so i pay sweat and sunburn and scratches on my legs and arms.

 

[elevan]

Our supplier charges $2.50 a bale for orchard grass / alfalfa mix square bales and $40 for a round bale that weighs about 900#. He only charges $8 for delivery

So I guess we're pretty lucky

 

[phoenixmama]

Well, I'm in Gilbert...so I feel your pain. It's expensive here too. This October I'm planting my own darn alfalfa thankyouverymuch. And ya know what's really irritating...in a town that was once known as the "Alfalfa Capital of the World"...you'd think I wouldn't have to shell out $10-12/bale for it!!!

Edited to add: Brought home a bale of bermuda hay last weekend for $10.50/bale. The goats only think it's "okay"...

 

[phoenixmama]

And another thing...it's no wonder why people are giving horses away left and right on Craigslist. I know of a local-ish goat dairy that has stray horses showing up at their place. I guess stray horses are the new stray dogs with these hay prices.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

I get the large round bales of bermuda hay for $25.

 

[patandchickens]

It's not just gas prices, this is the time of year when hay prices are *always* highest.

I'm getting another three large square bales (~650 lbs) this week from my hay guy, but he promised me last fall he'd give me the same price as he did then, which was $65 a bale -- BUT that's with him delivering it and putting it thru my barn doorway onto a dolly with his tractor (we are tractorless). So on the one hand we are somewhat overpaying by local standards but we get it *delivered* (and couldn't use his large squares at all if he didn't do this) and he gets a better price than he would otherwise, so I figure it is sorta win-win.

I don't know what regular small squares of horse-quality grass or mix hay would be around here this time of year, but I would guess in the vicinity of $4 for a 40-50 lb bale, not delivered.

Pat

 

[chicks & ducks]

We are paying $2 US right now for square bales. We don't really have a place to store round ones and we only have a few critters so right now we're ok with that. Send the stray horses my way!

((fyi I'm in Wisconsin so I'm sure that affects the price))

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I pay $3. a square bale and that's delivered and put up in the mow.
Good quality horse hay.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I paid $3 for my small square bales of straw for bedding

$5 for a 40lb bale of alfalfa hay
and $5 for a 45 to 50lb bale of 2nd grass mixed hay very good quality.


We have paid these prices for the last 3 years. Needless to say it is worth our time to build good hay feeders that don't waste hay, It makes no sense to me to use hay as bedding. It is better for me to just put out some bedding when I need to.

Another thing that has affected horses around here causing them to be given them away on craiglist is we no longer have a place to take dead animals. So no one wants to deal with a dead horse and no place to send it. So they try to give away their old aging horses as if it is a gift to unsuspecting people who don't know any better.