Hay availability - Summer 2023

[eightpondfarm]

yes, Wise Bros. I was there saturday and drove past their fields their fields and stuck my hand into hay bales in their stacks. Very stemmy (first cut).

I’ve been buying from them for a few years, and i’ve not shopped price…but after moldy hay and grassy alfalfa and hard to deal with locals it’s refreshing to deal with them. I’ve not been disappointed with the quality. But then i’ve been getting second cutting. They used to roundbale the alfalfa’s first cut, but this year they squared it because …well, drought.

I will be buying the stemmy stuff…and hope they get a second cut and i can upgrade.

[cattywampus]

Don’t want to jinx it, but our grass hay looks really nice so far…

[eightpondfarm]

Nice! is that timothy…or what?

[candyappy]

@eightpondfarm

So, i guess i’ll get mostly the alfalfa orchard mix and maybe just 500 bales of the pure alfalfa for Jan/Feb.

I would think the mustangs would do just fine on any hay you provide that is good quality? What is your reason to feed them alfalfa( just curious) ? No worries about blister beetles?

You are the one with all the mustangs , right??

[candyappy]

Seems our yields on the last 2 fields we hayed were way better. These were bottom ground fields, along the creek and stayed wet for a long time after a very wet late Winter/ early Spring rain fest.

We got all the hay we need and will start on our customer now. Hope to get rain and do some squares later this Summer/ Fall to put in our loft for when my goats kid.

[eightpondfarm]

yes…all the mustangs. Every BLM holding facility feeds alfalfa. I know for sure that one of the holdings also has free-choice pasture grass roundbales as well.

I feed alfalfa to all of the herds (sheep&llamas/cattle/horses-domestics and mustangs). Always have. I suppose it’s a habit rather than any other reason? It makes me feel good to feed them this way. No grain tho

[candyappy]

@eightpondfarm

I feed alfalfa to all of the herds (sheep&llamas/cattle/horses-domestics and mustangs). Always have. I suppose it’s a habit rather than any other reason? It makes me feel good to feed them this way. No grain tho

We feed clover and it really isn’t necessary but they all adore it so. I know what you mean

[FromTheGalaxy]

I’m also in central MO and we hayed our 8ish acres about 2 weeks ago. We wanted to hay a few weeks earlier this year because the last couple of years we’ve had to push 1st cutting back due to rain and the grass was too mature/stemmy for my liking. We ended up getting about 100 bales less than we normally get for this first cutting. Decided to keep all of it for ourselves (we usually only keep about 300 and sell the rest) just in case the drought is as bad this year as it was last and I have to start feeding hay early again. I’m very lucky that we have a guy that will come out and do small squares for 50/50 shares for us, and we buy out his portion for $5/bale out of the field. We can sell our grass/alf mix out of the barn for $7 or $8/bale typically. Relieved to have my hay for the year squared away, I had a heck of a time last year between having to find different sources for alfalfa and fescue free for my broodmare. I think at one point I had 5 different types of hay in my barn last summer lol

[FromTheGalaxy]

I am worried that if drought conditions continue then we will run out of grass and won’t get a 2nd cutting. We also sprayed the field for foxtail and really need a light rain to get that chemical down into the soil. Fingers crossed the rain starts soon!

[eightpondfarm]

we’ve read that July here (in MO) is expected to be wetter than normal.

about blister beetles… The bi-line is that as long as you don’t crimp the hay those little suckers will drop down into the ground. And unless it’s gone to bloom already (which this particular cutting did not because it was cut sooner than that…i don’t know if any has bloomed yet??) …anyhow, the blooms are supposed to bring them.

[FromTheGalaxy]

I will cross my fingers then! I would love a wet month! I feel like we’ve been in drought conditions for about a full year now. Even our winter was drier and warmer than normal.

[candyappy]

@eightpondfarm

we’ve read that July here (in MO) is expected to be wetter than normal.

I won’t hold my breath. I don’t have any faith in our forecaster’s ability to accurately predict the weather one day to the next, let alone a month from now. We could use it so maybe they will be right!

We used to grow alfalfa here and our cutter did not crimp the hay , so I never worried but when you buy hay you have no idea. I really miss having some alfalfa.

[eightpondfarm]

What do you spray to get rid of foxtails?

i just now called Wise Bros. after the 24 bundles of 100% (ie 500 bales) i just put in for, they only have 14 bundles left! yikes…glad i didn’t wait another day!

So, IF we get another cutting of field hay my animals will stay ‘fluffy’ this winter And if we don’t …and it’s as warm as last winter was, they can eat standing hay and fescue. Last winter they could graze except for about 45 days.

[eightpondfarm]

alfalfa and oat hay (separate bales/separate producers) was what we fed in California…and the alfalfa habit just stuck with me. I’m a big fan of stuff.

speaking of bugs…i just noticed the Japanese beetles have arrived a couple days ago. nasty little bugs…

[candyappy]

@eightpondfarm

alfalfa and oat hay (separate bales/separate producers) was what we fed in California…and the alfalfa habit just stuck with me. I’m a big fan of stuff.

speaking of bugs…i just noticed the Japanese beetles have arrived a couple days ago. nasty little bugs…

Those were the 2 hays of choice for us in CA too growing up

We don’t get the beetles until Fall…

[FromTheGalaxy]

@eightpondfarm

What do you spray to get rid of foxtails?

We had MFA come out and spray Prowl H2O. It’s a pre-emergent so has to be sprayed before the foxtail seedlings start to emerge in early summer.

[TheJenners]

@Calvincrowe

We got a shot of really hot weather in early May here in the PNW, after a very wet March and April (and so much snow this winter in the mountains!), which allowed some folks to get a first cut about a month and a half early, of the “local” or “unfarmed” hay. Just saw several fields cut this weekend as we are expecting another round of hot weather/no rain.

Same up here, a field by the water just baled into rounds for cows, it’s “the nicest grass hay you can find” according to the property owner and I told the wife of the guy cutting that I’d be interested in some of the hay when it’s in squares since I can feed “local” hay now. She posted this May 10:

I’m green buuuuut it’s getting pretty done and ready to be baled. This was taken 6/3 and you can see a corner of one of my mowed paddocks but this paddock hasn’t had horses on it long and then my bottom acreage is the same green-going-gold color. The hay guy already texted me about whether or not I want the hay cut, I do, and I may keep it this time too.

[Tarlo_Farm]

@goodhors

Michigan hay is looking good. Lots being done this last week, heat and all. We got ours in and done today, just hotter than heck! Found two wonderful guys to stack in the barn. One of those “Praise the Lord” times!! Paid them well and gave tips! Our hay is grass, but you might find a hay broker, have some hay shipped out to you if you can’t find enough locally.

Weather here and further into Indiana has been perfect for cutting, drying and baling hay. Might not get a second cutting if we don’t get some rain soon. Third week of no rain and dry. No dew at night either.

You must be south. Grand Rapids and north are experiencing a significant drought. I’ve had two 1/4" rainfalls in seven weeks. We’re parched, my spring pastures are crispy, and I’m worried.

[Jarpur]

The hay producer we’ve purchased from (out of the field) for the past several years didn’t have any hay last year, due to severe drought. There’s been rain this year, but he’s already warned my husband that he may not get enough to sell to us from the second cutting (that’s when he square bales).

We just paid $15 per 50# square bale at a local feed store. Ouch!

[eightpondfarm]

@Jarpur

We just paid $15 per 50# square bale at a local feed store. Ouch!

ooof!~
of alfalfa hay or grass hay?