[Jacob-list] Hay Woes

[Linda]

$200/ton?  I am quaking with gratitude for the chance to get hay delivered this week at $200/ton! It is wonderful hay with no weeds and the sheep eat every blade. My round bales are running $90/ton, but that source is limited and we aren't able to store round bales efficiently.  Getting good quality round bales is hard around here, but this guy's are good, so we are trying to get as many as we can until he runs out.

As far as I can tell, there are as many hay fields around as ever, but we are now competing with the horse market, where people have 4 horses on a dirt lot, need lots of hay, and are willing to pay dearly for it.  Combined with the drought, it makes it rough.  Don't get me wrong - I raised and showed Quarter Horses for years.  We had pasture, though, and didn't keep horses in a space the size of my kitchen. Sore subject. 

I used to go with the per bale price, but hay bales vary so much as to weight around here, that it makes no sense to look at the bale price.  I'm a reasonably strong 58 year old woman.  If I can carry a bale in each hand on our steep land, they ain't heavy. 

It sounds like you have a great cooperative effort going in Utah.  This year, for the first time ever, I think I will be taking some sheep to the sale.  I am absolutely, totally, against taking Jacobs to the sale if they are something where I don't want to see offspring showing up to be registered down the line.  Since both JSBA and JSC have open books, I prefer to butcher anything not worth breeding.  I imagine the prices will be down, but with the cost of hay, it may be the most financially practical move.  We'll be running our freezer rams on a neighbor's pasture and giving them meat in exchange. 

Linda
 
www.patchworkfibers.com
Registered Jacob Sheep, Angora Rabbits, Handspun Yarn



> We are also having a problem this year with the hay.  Utah has

> always been a little behind with their prices, so it has been hard

> for us to see such big increases.  As far as the weather is

> concerned,  we are having a good year for growing hay overall.  Our

> problems stem from 1- First cut did not yield as well as usual.  We

> got too hot,  too fast. 2- We are losing hay fields to sub

> divisions. 3- We are also competing with the big ranches and

> dairies from Calif. who will come in, offer top dollar ($200.00 per

> ton) and buy it all.  4- Corn replacing hay fields to be sold as an

> alternative fuel source. Last year hay went for about $100.00 per

> ton at the most.  Now if you can find it, it will start at about

> $150.00 and go up.

> We also have a local Hay producer that has been offering $150.00

> per ton in the field to all the local farmers, as long as the

> farmer sells only to him. He then plans on holding out to increase

> the price to $200.00 per ton this winter.  Several good things have

> come about this summer from all the concern about the hay prices.

> One person has created a Hay Data base, at

> UtahFiberFarmers at yahoo.com.  She has talk with, as many hay

> producers as possible and then made a data base, comparing what

> they have and their price.  This has help us have a more accurate

> picture of the market and I believe has also help with keeping the

> hay prices competitive.  If I can know where to buy for $4.00 per

> bale vs $6.00 per bale and what the actual tonnage prices are, that

> is really being charged. Sometimes buying by the bale will inflate

> the tonnage $$. We have also banned together (the Small Farms) and

> made sure we have enough hay to get thru until Spring.  We are

> hoping to impact those storing the hay, so they can  charge more in

> the Spring, to have an over abundance that they will need then to

> drop the price to get rid of. This Spring will be interesting for

> us.  Currently people are so worried about being able to feed there

> animals that there is no market for selling (and it is almost

> impossible to give them away). Karen Sigler www.BenjaminFarms.com

> _______________________________________________

> Jacob-list mailing list, sponsored by Swallow Lane Farm &

> Fiberworks Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com

> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20070810/3c78f273/attachment-0001.html>