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Post by lakeportfarms on May 15, 2013 14:31:23 GMT -5
I just had 22 bales of 4x5 hay delivered. Though about 30% of our pastures have long enough grass to start grazing, the grass just hasn't quite grown enough in the other areas to put anybody out on them. We're probably two weeks behind on growth due to the cold spring (it even snowed here Sunday but didn't stick).
Fortunately our hay guy had some that he was saving for his horses, so I talked him into feeding squares to them and selling me the rounds. I believe that makes about 290 or so round bales this past year...ouch! Due to the mild winter and some extra I purchased two years ago, I had 120 bales stockpiled in the spring of 2012. At least first cutting will happen here in a few weeks, and I'll begin to stockpile the hay once again.
Who has plans to try to build up their stockpile of hay this season? I'm wondering if there is going to be a squirrel mentality and demand for hay will be high due to people like me ;D Or have a lot of livestock been culled during the droughts of the past couple of years so the supply will come close to the demand? I realize there are some regional considerations...
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Gorignak
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Post by Gorignak on May 15, 2013 15:14:29 GMT -5
Hey Hans....or should it be Hay Hans.... I watch Ag Day each morning....4:30 AM here. It is a mix of necessary info, tidbits of wisdom and a good hard dose of industrio-agri madness.
LOWEST CATTLE NUMBERS SINCE 1952.
HAY PRODUCTION RAPIDLY SHIFTING FROM LOCAL TO LARGE SCALE REGIONAL.
Two tidbits that were offered in the past couple of weeks on the show.....Though we have a lot of small field hay operations here, the quality is not worth paying the same as hay trucked from the clean, clear fields of Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Not to mention Kansas, Nebraska, and even Utah Alfalfa.
For years, locals would feed the last of their hay in the Spring with the cattle accumulated on one small pasture. They would fertilize and cut hay....usually one cutting....from all the rest of their land. Then they would run the cattle on all the fields until the next spring. Operations here range from 80 to 1000+ acres....with most being in the 240 acre size range. Small, family operation that made a couple of tractors and the equipment worth having.
As I mentioned before, I was offered 4X5 rolls of mixed grass, predominately Fescue, and Bermuda from the creek bottoms near here for $15. a bale. THAT WAS 2011 SPRING. I just don't see hay being that cheap again......I would sure get 2 years worth, and stack it covered and off the ground if it came available anywhere near $20. / 4x5.
Sun cured Alfalfa in 4x3x8 bales could be bought for $245/ton this winter. I will be getting some of that this year to help with the marginal quality of the rest.
For those that know the game by the numbers.....there are few operations that run cattle in the 5/6 or 6/7 condition range. Most of my peckerwood neighbors are lucky when their cattle calve in the 5 range. It is hard to believe that they can calve and nurse in the body condition they are in. The local auctions have done a lot to force upgrades....and now the herds look more uniform, and tend to a better condition.....that is exerting pressure on the local hay market. It is hard to get a cow to 7 on fescue, or even Bermuda, hay......It takes something additional. LOTS AND LOTS OF PROTEIN AND LIQUID LICK TUBS DOT THE FIELDS
Like to see a lot of response to this question and the strategies that folks use to make it through without spending an arm and a leg $$$.
And....for the love of...well,Dexters, my cattle are coming out of winter at 7/8.....slick and fully fleshed.....but, such a small herd.
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Post by rezzfullacres on May 15, 2013 15:46:33 GMT -5
Who has plans to try to build up their stockpile of hay this season? I'm wondering if there is going to be a squirrel mentality and demand for hay will be high due to people like me ;D Or have a lot of livestock been culled during the droughts of the past couple of years so the supply will come close to the demand? I realize there are some regional considerations... We mow and bale all of our own, we like to keep 150% of a years supply on hand at the end of the hay season....Last year we lost a farm lease so we came very close to running out but we picked up another farm for this year so we will be able to stock pile a bit......What we are seeing is livestock numbers down BUT the price of small grains and corn are so high that many hay fields have been turned into crop fields for the higher return....So while there is less livestock there is also less hay available.....Until the grain and ethanol markets come back to reality there will be less hay for the "cow grade" consumer, those willing to pay the "horse grade" inflated prices will always be able to find thier hay because as PT Barnum said there is a sucker born every minute........
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Gorignak
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Post by Gorignak on May 15, 2013 16:17:17 GMT -5
That was the exact focus of the AgDay team....if land was level and any chance of making a grain crop, they will plow it. You are right about "horse grade". That is the term for any hay around here for more than $70. / 4x5.
Their summary was that hay production was going to become more and more regional and large scale, with railroads doing the long hauling and truckers shuttling to the farm. There is a Texan advertising on our local Craigslist...6-10 different types of hay. His prices range from $20./4x5 to $45/4x5 He offers carload and truckload quotes. The traffic of TTL loads of hay around here has been incessant.
Some of my observations were meant to inject the concept of quality in the equation. If the era of neighbor-grown hay is over, then quality is as or more important than price. Not being experienced, I don't have years of filling the barn with whatever the local fields produced. If I am paying $45. and up....I am going to go the extra mile to know the TDN & protein content.
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Post by kansasdexters on May 15, 2013 16:56:09 GMT -5
Hans,
We are in the same boat as you are. We are still feeding hay, waiting for the pastures to be ready for grazing for the main herd. We had freezing temperatures last week and now we're in a heat wave, it's almost 90 degrees today and it was 96 oF yesterday. Freaky weather.
We just bought another sixty 2012 bales (small squares) of 2012 brome hay to feed the cows that are calving in our barn lot and stone shed paddock areas. We bought another 10 large bales of 2012 brome to feed the cows and heifers that are due to calve in the next 30 days.
The pastures are doing much better, and we're grateful for the precipitation in any form (we've had hail, snow, rain, and sleet in May).
Patti
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Post by midhilldexters on May 15, 2013 18:26:41 GMT -5
I think you are right to buy all you can when you can. My hay guy left me short in the fall and we struggled to even find hay. I used haylage for the first time ever, I bought small squares, and we stopped at every farm that had bales in their fields. No one would sell!
We are hopefully buying a baler, we will cut and bale the front and back yard if we have to, I just don't want to be in that situation ever again. There is nothing worse than being down to your last few bales and not being able to find any. In 12 years oh having cows that was a first for me. I put my cows out on pasture when it was too soft and my pastures suffered, they will recover with some work, but.....
I am already reading of Nebraska being in a drought now and people watering their corn to get it to germinate. It doesn't look like it will be Ny better this coming hay season, but I hope I am wrong.
Carol K
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Post by rezzfullacres on May 15, 2013 20:24:45 GMT -5
I think you are right to buy all you can when you can. My hay guy left me short in the fall and we struggled to even find hay. I used haylage for the first time ever, I bought small squares, and we stopped at every farm that had bales in their fields. No one would sell! Carol K We have been in this position before, it sucks....We vowed to never let it happen again.....We try to maintain at least 15 acres of hayland we do not need, this year it is 14 but we did rent a pasture to put the horses and steers on so that will drop our hay usage quite a bit...... If anyone on the east coast is ever in this position, just ask we can always come up with a trailer load or two of hay.........
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Post by wvdexters on May 16, 2013 9:43:01 GMT -5
We were talking about this just yesterday. These past couple years have been especially hard. We've learned alot. Namely don't rely on others no matter how good intentioned. When things get really down well you know what can happen. We got left high and dry last fall when our promised hay fell through.
We have our order in with another farmer (the one who helped us ) and yes, there will be some squirreling. The barn will be packed and I plan to tarp some too.
We also have some hard decisions to make. The drought really set us back with our plans. The new fields are growing great with all your help (Thanks again guys!!!) But they will not be ready for grazing until fall at the earliest; probably next year if we have another rough year. The abandoned property I hoped to lease has not worked out. We have to come up with a new plan.
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Post by trdean on May 16, 2013 10:45:07 GMT -5
I am doing something a little different to lessen the hay use in the NC Piedmont area. I am sowing rye, rye grass, and crimson clover in early September and will move the cows onto it to graze through the winter. I have also planted the pastures in red river and quick and big crabgrass for good summer grazing. So I have a double crop rotation that I am using. Of course I will have backup of stockpiled rolls...but I hope to limit my reliance on them. Here I have a nice hay operation a mile away...but I am not always happy with the quality of the hay they produce. And it is not all their fault...this spring weather has made it very difficult to cut and bale at the proper time. As with anything, weather can throw a wrench into the works...but we shall see how it goes. This past winter the rye mix was awesome.
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Post by lakeportfarms on May 16, 2013 10:54:24 GMT -5
I think it's very helpful, for those of us who don't have our own hay fields, to establish a good relationship with a supplier THAT YOU CAN TRUST! I read and heard stories from people last year who THOUGHT they had a good supplier, and that person ended up selling the hay out from under them for big money when prices skyrocketed. Maybe it's me, but I wouldn't buy from that person again. I already told my hay guy what are requirements are for the season, and I expect he'll fulfill them. If he has extra, I'll buy from him. If I find somebody else with some good prices and hay, I'll buy from them to add to my stockpile but I won't subtract what I've committed to purchase from Brian. I have some work to do on the property that will take out 10 acres or so of pasture for a while, so if I have extra I may take the opportunity to do that work and just feed the extra hay.
I told Brian that whatever help he needs when the time comes to rake, bale, load or haul I'll help him out. It saves a lot of handling taking it right out of the field to our place. He sells a lot of his hay to horse people, and I know he gets way more money for his bales than what he sells it for to us. But his horse people are fickle, and they are the first to jump to a new supplier if their squares are a dollar cheaper. But if I'm there for him through thick or thin there's a better chance he'll be there for me. He showed he was last summer.
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Post by dexterfarm on May 16, 2013 13:20:36 GMT -5
We made it this year with 2 big net wrapped bales left for next year. My hay but baled by a neighbor when our baler broke down. We will probably start bailing in 2 weeks. I see a lot of hay fields being plowed under here. I wish they would drop ethanol supplements. What a waist of resources for something that is a net energy loss.
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