Hay Prices

[0Chimera0]

[QUOTE=equinekingdom;6843700]
one would think that the actual cost in a singular area to produce hay would be much the same, if the quality is the same. One wonders why some crappy quality hay costs more than good quality…hmm…

do hay growers just randomly pull a number out of their heads and decide that what’s they’re going to charge? do they ever barter?

personally glad I’m in the horse business, not the hay business.[/QUOTE]

Dallas, TX - $10/bale for coastal and the quality varies by feed store, but is often questionable. Personally, my bales are good quality, but that’s because I pick it up an hour out of town in the middle of hay country.
Down here, we have the terrible combination of poor quality and higher cost because we’re in the midst of a drought - causing a few years in a row of reduced quantities of hay produced and reduced quality in the hay that is produced.

[Frizzle]

I’m in Miami. An average 2-wire bale of O/A or T/A is anywhere from $18-22. Timothy is about the same.
125-lb 3-wire bale of orchard is $36.00.

[PRS]

I’m in Central Georgia.
I just paid $12.50 for a bale of mixed orchard grass/alfalfa from the feed store
I’ve paid $70 for large round bales of coastal all winter
I usually pay $5.50 for coastal square bales farm direct.

[LEL]

Central Texas
$13.95 small alfalfa square bales (2 string and ~60 pounds)
$8.20 small coastal square bales (same as above)

These are the prices for horse quality hay. I purchased one bale from a local farmer who claimed he had horse quality hay. Paid $7 out of the field. Got home, opened it up, and found horse nettle/nightshade all throughout.

[ponygirl]

O&A, T&A 50lb bales are nearly $700 a ton which is 17 -18 a bale depending on cut. This is feed store prices. Coastal is 7.50 for a 30lb bale of hay but getting folks to do the math so they realize they can feed better hay for the same price is impossible.

That being said, I get my hay out of KY from a hay farmer. We are paying $400 a ton. Drop dead gorgeous, consistent bales out of the same fields. We have it analyzed numerous times over the years and it’s nearly always the same there too. I’m very envious of other states.