Agreed. In general around here hay prices go up when fuel costs go up, but hay prices don’t go back down when fuel prices drop. I’m still buying last year’s cut so I’m not yet paying for the fuel and fertilizer price jumps. In Ontario it has also been too wet to get the hay off the fields this year.
First, not all of the farms out in Lancaster County or the Amish country, are owned by Amish. Second, if the Amish want to sell anything at the local Hay sales then yes they do have to have someone haul it and therefore use fuel. And finally yes they do use fertilizer other than manure and also chemicals on some of their crops.
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I’m in eastern middle TN. Our weather for the first cutting was wonderful, for producers who went ahead and cut in May. June was very, very dry, so I’m concerned about what that will mean for the late comers and second cutting. My hay guy is not going up on his prices from last year until the end of this season; I went ahead and got my order in now! I’m paying $6.50/bale for orchardgrass (~55 pound bales) and $8.50/bale for alfalfa (~70 pound bales). His hay quality is fantastic - I consider these prices a steal.
I purchased 33% more hay than last year and would encourage anyone else in this area who can do so to go ahead and buy more than you think you will need. We’ve had a bit of rain this week, but we’ll need a lot more rain than that to keep the pastures going this summer and fall.
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PNW, like Calvincrowe, just saw a local feedstore post they “finally” have local grass, 95# bale, $19 each. All I’m going to say is I know the farmer they get it from and he’s one of the only ones I’d buy local hay from, if I were so inclined.
Otherwise, I’m seeing all other hay at 500+ per ton, or at least $30/bale (~110 lb bales, 3 strings).
I would love to get started putting up hay but as a boarder I have minimal space - just enough for my one horse. Thankfully I have enough to last for now, just fingers crossed by the time I get low enough to have space I will be able to find what I need.
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Well it’s becoming a Poker Game here. Today a friend told me that her hay guy let her know last night he won’t have hay for her. He gave her a name to call so she did. New guy, long time resident farmer, charges $10 per square bale (50/60#) in the field, $12 in the barn. This is by far the highest price I’ve heard of in my area but she took it because the supply chain is throttling down. The cattle guys who also sell hay are starting to hoard and not sell. 🫣
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Farmers in the southern Willamette Valley are cutting and baling. I buy out of the field and will get hay tomorrow or Thursday. Last year, a bale was $5:50, it may be more this year. The hay grower I buy from did cut some fields a few weeks ago, but we buy from a field that is a little wetter, so he cuts that one last. He also irrigates one of his fields, so we get some really nice leafy second growth from him.
I can’t feed hay from Central/Eastern Oregon, It’s too high in sugar. I did see someone up near Portland had low-sugar hay.
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They can also hire people with modern machinery to put up their hay if they choose( or need to) can’t they? They hire drivers and such when needed.
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This is a good plan no matter what. We always have way more than we need because you never know what may come.
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After a really wet Spring - early June we are suddenly dry & excessively hot and haven’t had any rain for 3 weeks now. That of course means pastures here are starting to decline, second cuttings may suffer if the weather doesn’t break and people may need to feed hay during the summer or way earlier than normal.
If that is a concern in your region as well , I can see prices suddenly rising as suppliers keep more back for their own possible needs . I will have to look on CL and see what people are asking and see if it has changed.
What a difference a few days make!
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SE Michigan!
Hay has been late to cut this year, but it does look like most professional suppliers in my area will get 3 cuttings.
The farm I board at grows and bales their own hay, and it’s been too wet up until just a few weeks ago to even think about putting equipment in the fields. I think it will be baled Thursday, as they were looking for stackers.
I see lots of hay going for $5.50 to $6 for 2 string 40-50lb grass bales, and between $40 and $55 for 4x4 or 4x5 rounds.
I have paid $5 per 2 string square bale for the past 3-4 years, and $55-$75 for rounds. So overall, they’re pretty close to where they were. A little more expensive for squares, and right around the same for rounds.
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There are many cottage industries up here that have formed to both support and profit from the Amish. There are individuals who buy themselves a big van (Yoder Loader) and transport the Amish in groups both short and long range trips. There are door to door grocery trucks, companies that market their puppies (in a sanitized ad on their website, with cute pix that they take, named, and “raised with children”) etc. And, since there is only so much land to go around, the Amish have set up businesses where they work primarily in the construction industry. Framing, roofing, siding, foundations and flat work, masonry, decks- you name it.
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I paid $8/bale for excellent second cut orchard grass last year, plus $0.50/bale to stack it for me. That just jumped to $10/bale for the hay plus $1/bale to stack. I’m in Virginia, and I have a good local hay supplier or two. They’re ALL charging this for the good stuff from what I can tell.
My hay guy was telling me that on top of the cost of diesel going up, fertilizer tripled in price. I paid what I paid, had them stack it, and now should be set until next year since I sold a horse and am down to just 2 of them.
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I looked at my area CL at hay prices today. Squares range from $5 ( grass hays) to $12 for alfalfa in what are most likely 45-50 pound squares.
$ 175 for big alfalfa squares ( 3x3x8) and anywhere from $40-$80 for grass 4x5 bales.
Better prices than I imagined, at least for now. Get it while you can.
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I live in the PNW. Last year, our hay prices doubled due to the major drought - $200 to $400+ a ton. This year, the farmers were delayed in getting their first cutting out of the field due to COLD and wet conditions. It’s only warmed up to summer-like temps in the last week. I usually get my first cutting in the barn in late June, this year it will be around the middle of July. Prices are still pretty high, but down slightly so far from last year.
Eastern PNW here.
Just got mine stacked in the barn today. OG/alfalfa mix, small squares, approx. $400/ton plus stacking.
I am in southern California, and my hay has basically doubled in the last 6-9 months, I went from 180 a ton to 380 a ton for bermuda grass, all my hay comes out of the imperial valley, fortunately thus far my squeeze fees have stayed the same but I expect them to go up on my next load as well.
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Stopped in to talk with my hay guy yesterday. Current prices sitting at just slightly less than 500/ton. He said new loads coming in shortly will be at least $100/ton more. I’d love to get started putting up hay, but I really have nowhere to put it right now.
He’s somewhat worried about supply, but not overly so. He said “if there’s hay to find, I will find it.” LOL. Yes, he will. No doubts there.
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What is a “squeeze fee”? I’ve never heard that phrase before??
A squeeze is a truck that they use to unload hay here in California, it is a truck that drives down the road one way, then the driver can hop in a seat facing backwards and offload hay, it is sort of like a giant forklift but instead of lifting the like a forklift it squeezes it. Pretty neat machine, and it picks up a dump of hay, 60 bales, at a time. On my last load I paid $150 to unload a truck and trailer
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I just paid $14.50 a bale for coastal Bermuda (yes, Texas) from the feed store, that I paid $10.50 for last year. We’re in a bit of a drought, but a lot of hay growers also irrigate. I assume the increase is due to fuel prices more than anything, it’s trucked in about 100 miles one-way. I could travel myself and get it a bit cheaper per bale, but then my fuel costs would probably offset any savings. I don’t have the space to store large amounts, and the feed store is more convenient for picking up 20 or so at a time. Fortunately, I can still afford this, but I can see how not everyone could absorb that much of an increase. I am concerned for the horses whose owners are just getting by.
ETA - I just bought one bale to see if they like it - if not, I’ll have to look elsewhere. Previously, I could let them be picky and waste it if they weren’t all that enthusiastic about eating it, but not any longer.
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