Think therel be as much hay cut this year due to gas pri

I know, here in NE Okla, there's been a couple years farmers didnt cut as much hay as they might for various reasons. Weve never had gas this high before, so I was wondering if that might be one of those reasons,

Then, that being said, do you think hay will be high dollar this winter IF farmers dont cut as much hay as they could?

Lastly, what do u think that would do to cattle prices this winter?

I see hay prices up this year due to fuel prices being so high.

Just pass the increase on to the buyer. Or fuel surcharge.

Twine prices, parts prices, fuel prices, hauling.... fertilizer is crazy for those that fert their hay, its going to cost more
this winter. Not sure there will be less made, but prices have to go up on all farm products.

Paul

I don't think there will be any less acres
put up for hay in my area. But if the being
dry trend continues, might be less hay on
the count of that. However, we did get some
recent rain that was much needed, and will
perhaps keep things going for awhile. If it
turns back off dry again? Who knows?

I think there will be a higher market for
hay next winter. If not caused by a
shortage, I think people will try to
squeeze a few more dollars out of thier hay
to get thier extra fuel expense back. The
later of course, won't apply to everyone.
There's always those people that just need
the money, and not in a position to hold
onto thier hay for a better price. Those
type people always put a damper on trying
to set a higher market. It's hard to set a
higher market, when there's others out
there that will sell to the first guy that
comes along with a little bit of cash.

A high hay market generally has the
opposite affect on the cattle market. If a
hay shortage is very widespread, people
usually reduce thier herd numbers. This
puts extra cattle (more numbers) being
marketed. More numbers being sold,
generally means a lower market for cattle.

Cattle producers play a similar game as
other producers. And sometimes, that game
is not a fun one to play. Sometimes it just
makes more sense to sell off a few extra at
a lower price, rather than pay more money
for hay, or search for some that can't be
found. FEWER mouths to feed, EQUALS less
hay you'll need.

All kinds of things a cow calf guy can do
when it comes to herd reduction and
stretching out the hay they do got as a
result.
Sell calves earlier than normal. Don't keep
any replacement heifers back this year
(wait till next), cull a few more old cows
than normal, sell those older bulls that
you were thinking bout hanging on to
another year or two, the list goes on.

It's never smart to run out of hay, and
then look for some. Always better to plan
ahead. I always sit down in the fall, after
my haying season is completely over with,
and see where I stand. Figure up how long
my hay I do got will last. If not till May
1st, I figure up how much hay I'll need to
buy to get there. But at the same time, I
always figure up how many cattle I'll have
to sell down to by a such and such time, in
the case that I do not buy any additional
hay.

Enough of my rambling. Anyways, there is a
bunch of business angles.

Our problem here has been getting hay dried enough to bale between rains
I finished baling first cutting hay yesterday and rain will be here this afternoon, Ive got 400 rolls sitting in the fields to haul in but they are calling for rain showers nearly every day this week
Fuel cost will have some effect but fertilizer cost are a bigger factor
Cool ground temps this spring slowed hay growth so the total bales are down some, with higher fertilizer cost the last 20 acres I baled has a fertilizer cost of $31.98 per bale, add fuel and higher twine cost and my base inputs is $34.25 per 4x5 bale without labor or equipment usage
Last years inputs was around $22 per bale
A second cutting without additional fertilizer will lower input cost averages but I have a good amount left over from last year and no foreseeable market for any extra Id get from a second cutting
Some fields Ill probably pasture, others Ill most like clip down with the batwing mower

Why in the world wouldn't there be, unless you're just trying to stir the pot by bringing up the subject. Cattle have to eat and
feed is short, prices are high and so are futures.

Well, theres been many months since I opened this posting. Since then, Ive seen gas prices go higher and higher. Ive seen constant drouth conditions with no rain to speak of, and ive seen thousands of Kansas cattle, and likely cattle from other western states die due to drouth conditions.
I STILL think there wont be as much hay cut, as to the conditions above which causes hay in fields to not be very high meaning one has to travel more ground to make required amount of hay needed, which means more money is spent on gas to cover that ground. Also, threre will be alot fewer cows this winter to eat that hay due to dying this summer

I don't know about the cattle market, but I do know beef prices have gone up quite a bit. Here in East Alabama, and West Georgia fuel prices have dropped a little, but probably not gonna offset hay prices.
As for me, we have horses. We take good care of them and won't just feed any type of hay. We look for barn stored hay that hasn't gotten rained on and has a low moisture content. One of our suppliers lost his leased Tift 85 hay field due to the seller selling the land and if he could find another one to lease, due to fertilizer costs so high that he would have to increase his round bails to nearly double, or nearly $140.00 per bail. As of yet, he has no hay to cut.
Our standby producer told us two weeks ago that due to the rain in our area, he hasn't been able to cut and hasn't gotten any in the barn yet. We'll call him this evening to hopefully find out that this week of no rain has made a difference, sure hope so...