finally got my hay delivered

[patandchickens]

Well, after the hay guy dragging his feet all thru Oct and the nice part of November, we finally got it delivered this afternoon. In deep deep mud topped with 4" of dense icy snow, and I have the *fiercest* ruts in my barn driveway now, and it was a terrible year for baling hay so it is pretty lousy hay, but hey, it's in the barn now and that's what really counts. Nineteen 700-lb big squares. Whew!

How are other folks doing for hay this year? I have no idea what the hay crop has been like elsewhere, but y'all shouldn't be expecting much GOOD stuff shipped down out of Ontario this year, sigh.

Next to a kitchen with a full pantry, and a full woodshed, nothing says "contentment and security" like a barn full o' hay


Pat

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

We haven't got our hay delivered yet. I know what we saw in the local farmers fields didn't look too good.

 

[miss_thenorth]

We got our hay in August. It's not bad, but the bales are really light--25-30 lbs instead of the 40 lbs "assumed" they would be. We realized it when we were unloading it into the shop. This is how the guy bales it, so we will need to get more.

 

[FarmerChick]

Hey Pat
I know what you mean. A barnful of hay makes one feel complete!

Spring cutting we got about 1000 square bales, fall cutting we baled big rounds and got about 220.

So I am big time set. Hay in the barn to me is pure comfort!

sorry about the driveway, big ruts, UGH. we try so hard to keep things good and then boom, in an instant, you got the deep ruts. Ugh!

We had great hay on both cuttings this year. Last year it was lousier cause of the drought.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I usually like to get hay in October but got it August, first cutting rather than second, because I was really worried about the price going up.
I bought at a little less than $18 for 120 lb orchard grass- it's now $22 for the same bale. So I saved some money but the hay is not as scare as I was worried about. I had some hay in my garage so didn't have to start using it til mid-october.

And I agree that a shed stuffed to the rafters with hay is a very comforting sight.

 

[PotterWatch]

Amazing the difference in climates we have, lol. It was in the high 70s- low 80s here today. What I wouldn't give for a little ice or snow...

ETA: That would be 75-80F so what something like 25 in celsius?

 

[miss_thenorth]

Amazing the difference in climates we have, lol. It was in the high 70s- low 80s here today. What I wouldn't give for a little ice or snow...

ETA: That would be 75-80F so what something like 25 in celsius?

Don't worry about the conversion--right now I am so close to the american border, I usually tell temps in Fahrenheit. I'm pretty good until the temps get close to freezing--then I get confused-(doesn't take much lol) It is around freezing now, with a bit of snow on the ground, I'll take your 70s

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

How much do the large round bales of hay normally go for?

 

[keljonma]

We purchased square bales of hay for $3.25/bale from a local farmer in September.

We don't buy the large rounds, QA. I saw a number of ads for them in the Farm and Dairy last week, no prices listed, though.

http://classifieds.farmanddairy.com...rain+and+Straw&classname=Hay,+Grain+and+Straw

 

[patandchickens]

Amazing the difference in climates we have, lol. It was in the high 70s- low 80s here today. What I wouldn't give for a little ice or snow...

Hey, you pay shipping and I'll scoop a bunch into a box for you for free Actually if you want floodwater I could give you a tankerfull, again, freight's on you

QA, big squares are usually somewhat cheaper per pound than small squares, comparing similar quality of hay. You need a tractor with a bale spear to handle them though. Some peoples' big squares are more apt to be dusty/moldy because of the size (people with heave-y horses or racehorses tend to avoid them for that reason); the ones I get are as clean as any small squares you could find however. Obviously they have to be stored at ground level rather than in a loft

I have to, with embarassment, decline to say what I'm paying because it is not an especially good deal in a monetary sense Oh shoot, ok, I'll admit it... I paid $70 per 700 lb bale (they really are about 700 lbs - I weigh my hay as I feed it, and have found that Bruce is generally bang on about weights, unlike many hay sellers). That's like paying $4 for a 40-lb small square bale.

Yeah yeah yeah, in a sense this is not so frugal because I could probably get comparable hay for maybe 30% less if I really scouted around ... but you know what, Bruce makes reliable, quality hay (better in good years than in this year, of course, but I can trust his description of what I'm getting... no extensive moldy surprises once I get to February's hay, or 'look at these nice bales, now let me sell you mostly these other ones'). And this way, I do not have to go driving all round the countryside lookin' at peoples' hay and then figuring how to get it to my barn and get it all unloaded iwth two small kids running around. Cuz for this price, Bruce drives his tractor over with the haywagon (he only lives about 5-10 minutes away) and puts the bales onto the dolly in the barn doorway, and the whole operation is over in an hour or less.

Bruce has always been really helpful in the past and I figure it is sort of a win-win transaction... he gets a bit more for his hay than he would otherwise, and I get a LOAD of aggravation taken off my mind.


Pat