Hay should be scarce this winter

wolfman · Nov 7, 2018

Here in s.w. Pa we had so much rain that a lot of fields didn't get baled. Good, made-right square bales should be in short supply. A good number of round bales are sitting along fencerows uncovered and many baled before conditions were right. I usually get 13,000 squares in the barns. This year half that number. Usually a thousand third cutting, this year zero third cut bales. Still have many fields of second cut to do but the fields are too wet to be on. Using my lighest tractor to rotary mow some fields but even too wet for that.

David G · Nov 7, 2018

Mine is all sold and gone.

rusty6 · Nov 7, 2018

Third cut. Wow! We were lucky to get a first cut on some of the fields here. Short of rain.

Tom in TN · Nov 7, 2018

I only bale about 2000 small squares each year, but, as you said, I also only got about half of the number of bales this year. I just couldn't get three consecutive hot, dry days. I finally gave up a couple of weeks ago and bush hogged about a third of my hay field. The Johnson Grass and sedge were too far advanced to make the grass of any value.

Tough year for me in Middle Tennessee.

Tom in TN

Mike(NEOhio) · Nov 7, 2018

I normally get 14-1500 in. This year, 625. I had about 8-900 left from last year that I couldn't give away. Glad I have it now. Good thing I don't have to rely on the income from hay.

K Effective · Nov 8, 2018

I was able to make just barely enough for my little herd, and that may be iffy. Just got my first inquiry about hay for sale yesterday, and turned them down.

Worst part for me was starting the year without a single bale in the mow- I have never seen that.

Bruce from Can. · Nov 8, 2018

Funny how different areas will see different markets. Here were I live , in South Central Ontario, you can hardly give a bale of hay away. A few years back, selling hay was not to bad a sideline, but money seems to have dried up for the horse crowd, and a lot less pleasure horses are being kept. Also the combination of years of low returns on cow calf farms caused by dismally low cattle price, combine with aging farmers, and soaring land prices, has brought a end to livestock farming. When it takes a million bucks to buy a 100 acre farm, and a sticker calf will bring $700. , it isn?t hard to see why no one wants to start

Brendon Warren · Nov 8, 2018

I'm almost out. I've sold nearly 10,000 small squares. We didn't have a bumper crop here in NNY. Too dry. Last year we were in your situation.

paul · Nov 8, 2018

Spring was so long and so cold, hay markets stayed open an extra 2 weeks, hay sold for very high prices in May! Pretty much cleaned out any old hay.

With the late spring and then endless flooding, making good hay was difficult. I basiclly got one cutting, should get 2 here of grass hay. But it was late, I had a lot of volume, filled my barn. Of course, it is not ideal hay, it is over ripe.

But the first time in 3 years I had a dry window to put up fairly good dry hay.

I?ve got lots of round junk bales, from being too wet over the past years......

Be interesting how this winter plays out, we are 15 degrees colder than normal already, very wet would think folks are burning through hay and straw early again.

Paul

grandpa Love · Nov 8, 2018

This was a good year in Central AL. Nearly everyone got 3 good cuttings some got a decent 4th. 2 years ago folks were trucking hay in from 100's of miles away. This year it sounds like it will ship the other way. Round bales were $75+ that year. This year $20.

paul · Nov 8, 2018

Typically high hay prices will flood the market the following year with excess hay - it?s worth so much everyone bales the waste areas and get rich selling all that junk hay!

As wet as this year was, and typically our ?waste? areas are low ground here, I don?t know what to think for this year...... it was just too wet all year.

Paul

Part Time Pete · Nov 8, 2018

There's plenty here in central NY. I made the mistake of selling all my hay to the same guys for the last five years, and they seemed to have dropped off the scope, so now I need to find another buyer. Guys that are selling hay don't seem to want to give up the names of their buyers - guess I'll have to advertise this year
Pete

Traditional Farmer · Nov 8, 2018

Plenty of hay it seems here in Central/Northern Virginia couple columns advertising hay in the local Buy/Sell The Valley Trader.Less cows and more of the former pasture land
being cut for hay makes for a surplus.

BarnyardEngineering · Nov 8, 2018

The key is getting it on to a truck and getting it to where there's a shortage. Every year there are places that have a bumper crop and places that are short.

Butch(OH) · Nov 8, 2018

Rumor has it that good quality 2nd cutting small squares were either side of $8 at the last Kidron aucion

Destroked 450 · Nov 8, 2018

Spring was late this year, by the time we turned cows to pasture I had 2 small squares and 3 junk round bales left, lots of rain and a few dry days allowed us to get 3 good cuttings so I have plenty of hay, but crab grass has taken a couple of pastures and a early frost now has us feeding hay nearly a month early, they are also predicting another long winter so I'm going the hang on to the extra hay I have for now, I may be needing it.
Need to rework those pastures next year to get late forage to last longer.

Al Baker(pumpman) · Nov 8, 2018

I have 100+ acres I have been waiting to cut n bale for over a month and a half. Just never dried out and warmed up. I did have a good 1st cutting and made enough 2nd to easily pull us though. So much for selling any 2nd or 3rd squares. Al

Fordfarmer · Nov 8, 2018

Much the same here in n/w WI. Lost a lot of first crop and some 2nd crop to rain after it was cut. Lost most of my oats, too. May still be able to get the straw once it freezes up, if it isn't buried under snow by then. Lots of guys are thinning their herds right now, pushing cattle prices even lower.

Tony S. · Nov 8, 2018

Lots in Idaho. Mainly ton bales.

hd6gtom · Nov 8, 2018

Good hay is plentifull here. Can't hardly give away big bales. Lots of corn stalks baled up too.

SHALER · Nov 8, 2018

Wolfman, I am just a little north of you and I would say " GOOD hay will be scarce this winter". Seems like there is a lot of real junk 1st cut around that was put up well in to July. I managed to get a little 2nd and 3rd cut in to the barn, but I think a lot of livestock will have to take a deep breath and gnaw on some tough 1st cut this winter.

Hay should be scarce this winter

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Similar threads