It’s 3 string bales about 120 lbs each
No …these are not big bales …these are all compressed 35lb bales
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Not cheap, but not real expensive here, is getting in a professional sprayer to go over your
hayfields. I also was doing the self-spraying with round-up, with little effect to be seen. I was
trying to reduce clover, not milkweed. The clover was increasing horribly!! Clover was all
volunteer, adding extra drying time to the hay. So I called the fertilizer folks I use and asked
them about getting the fields sprayed. A man came and I showed him what we needed. Warned
him about not getting any drift on the neighbors fields or trees. No Problem! They came in a
week or two, unfolded the sprayer unit about 4 times. I believe he only had to do a couple
passes up and down the field to cover all our narrow 10 acres. He did not use a round-up type
spray.
Took about two weeks to start seeing effects, but the spray really did the clover in!! Hooray!! Spray
killed everything that was not grass,. Not sure what he used, but he was a professional, certified to
be mixing and applying potent chemicals. I am not in that category, not going to get that qualified.
I do not think he was there for even an hour. Most of his time was spent folding and unfolding his
sprayer!! Ha Ha I believe the cost was about $900, applied in fall. No clover or any other weeds
to be found when things sprouted in the spring. Fields are still clean, nothing but mixed grasses
in the hayfields now, 2 years, 4 cuttings later.
To me, it was worth the cost of professional application, using a more effective spray. Saved me much time and the cost of spray when doing it myself. The neighbors on both sides of the hayfields still have great crops of mixed weeds, including milkweed. I counted more Monarchs this year than in the last three years! I hope there were many, not counting the same one in different places! I have milkweed on the pasture edges, garden bed, along the railroad ties edging the arena. The seeds get spread far and wide, hoping the butterflies use the milkweed to multiply themselves.
Horses ignore milkweed in any form all year around.
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I have a certified agronomist spray our fields, too. They are very clean except for the occasional milkweed. I pull them out, but they are never mature enough to even have pods. I doubt most people would even see them.
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What size bales are you paying $38 for?? Are these typical regular sized bales of hay? Or are these the bigger three string size?
If this was in my pastures, I would be doing the same and having my fields sprayed… This, however, came from Hay from a big hay sale operation that it’s supposed to be premium and sent out to get analyzed… I guess I could see this happening more if it was from my local farmer down the road who doesn’t get his hay analyzed or things like that but to come from a big operation like this And this isn’t just you know one little spot here or there I mean this was throughout 12 pallets of hay … this operation is in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania… However, I was told they sourced this Hay from New York… I’m just surprised they didn’t thoroughly inspect it before then selling it to me…
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3 string bales of Teff for 38. 2 string bales of Timothy or Orchard or Orchard / Alf mix run 27-30. Straight alfalfa 2 string bales are cheaper at 25 and the bales are heavier than the T or O.
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The bales that I’m referencing, are small compressed 2 string 30 pound bales at just a hair under $10 a bale… And for it to be subpar with toxic milkweed is just not acceptable… My local farmer who makes beautiful first cutting Timothy orchard grass mix charges me five dollars a bale… Never ever has there been anything like this found in it… I would love to just feed that to everyone but his hay is not low sugar, and I really don’t wanna have to deal with soaking hay in the winter for 11 horses
North Texas area we are paying $38.50 for 3 string +/- 130 pound bales of TEFF, the cost varies some due to shipping fuel cost as all is brought in from out of state
But there is no waste what so ever with this hay as the horses will eat every piece
We did get some bales a few years ago that household insulation baled into the hay, supplier replaced all without question and did so rapidly - same day as reported.
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I realize you are buying beeautiful, BIG bales, and are in the western high-price area. This makes me SO GLAD we bought our own hay equipment several years ago! Friends selling out of horses, they ran a boarding barn, supplied themselves. Older equipment but he kept everything in excellent condition. We have only had a couple miniscule problems (normal wear and tear on equipment being used) during haying since buying. I bought an additional accumulator and bale grapple the second year after trouble finding baling people help. Those are WONDERFUL additions, letting us get things on wagons, only need help stacking bales in the barns. We only do small square bales, weight varies as they continue to dry in the barn. We put hay up rather dry for safety, but they dry even more over winter. Funny how heavy they seem when stacking, much less weighty as we feed it in the cold!
Hay prices have risen steadily since then (Midwest), averaging $6-11 recently for small squares at the weekly, local hay auction. They do not list types of hay in bales. Not sure we could have more than a couple horses at $27-38 the bale!! Local farmer prices vary, $5-7+ on untested, usually mixed grass and alfalfa , some weeds. Most don’t soil test or fertilize regularly because it cuts into their profits on low cost hay. “Fancy” hay with testing, consistent bale weights or sold by the ton (pretty uncommon here) sells higher. We presently own 8 horses, so that is “dead-end” money if we bought hay, spent and gone yearly. Cost would be money needed yearly. Baling ourselves cost tractor fuel, string purchases, money for help stacking in the barn. Initial machinery investment will be recovered should we sell the equipment, so no cash loss. Really nice to know exactly what is in the hay we feed.
I know what things cost the farmers, they certainly can’t price hay lower than it cost to produce! I also fertilize both hay fields and pastures yearly, soil test both areas, test the resulting hay we bale, to KNOW the horses are getting nutrients needed for using them. We use them hard, they need good nutrition. All that costs money, time to the farmer, he has to pay himself, not just expenses. Sure makes looking back to my childhood when hay was $.50 a bale look good!! Took pony a week or more to finish a bale, since she had grazing too.
I would be willing to bet the New York hay source will not be selling to your hay broker again! Bad marks for bad products beside their name!! The milkweed hay is going to be a loss to sell, when they need to offer it at a low price with full disclosure to other buyers. There are certain expectations of sellers to the brokers, clean hay would be about top of the list. Broker can’t be inspecting every pallet when they deal in hundreds of pallets. They trust the hay maker to sell good hay. Bad hay maker name will be widely shared, brokers won’t deal with them at all.
Your hay broker listening about the bad hay, coming out to pick it up IMMEDIATELY shows he wants to keep you as a customer, make things right with you. Sounds like an EXCELLENT place to do business with!!
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Crazy low prices! I can’t even buy local Bermuda hay that cheap even if I go pick it up out of the field!
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Oh no I’m down by FL where good hay costs a million dollars it seems! Thankfully the growing season never stops so I don’t use too many tons of hay!
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Yep. Mine is shipped from Ohio to Idaho for storage and then to me on the Gulf Coast. It’s pricey but the horses love it and it’s a good safe hay. Not too sugary, not too calorie dense and easy to digest.
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The toxins in milkweed are in the milky sap, not in that white fluff.
The stuff that makes it toxic also tastes REALLY bad, so it is unlikely horses will eat it unless they are near starving.
Milkweed shoots can be made non-toxic and edible (not bad-tasting) by boiling for10 minutes and throwing out the water.
Yes agreed …they are wonderful…I’ve been buying hay from them for the past 10yrs -never a problem…I think they said they’re going to have to scrap this hay -maybe sell it for mulch??
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I know! But from my area under $10 for not Bermuda hay is crazy cheap! I don’t blame you for not wanting milkweed hay though!
Last winter I was paying $23 ish for similar sized compressed orchard bales about 40 lbs each.
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Oh my gosh! Do you mind sharing your geographic area?
Sure I’m down near Pensacola FL. I’m paying pretty typical prices for the general area and quality of hay. The big bales are less expensive per lb of hay than the smaller bales typically. I’ve often considered the big block bales but I don’t have a good system for acquiring, handling, storing or feeding them. And they are hard to find here except as alfalfa.
Little compressed bales from Tractor Supply are priced competitively with other sources but I think the quality isn’t as good and so much shatter. And no Teff.
Generally speaking. I don’t care for compressed hay as much as not compressed hay. But either way I wouldn’t want to pay market prices for hay with noxious weeds.
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