The price of storing hay or stockpiling grass

[francismilker]

I've never given much thought to the way I've done things all my life with hay and forage until this present year. It's always been second nature for me and all my neighbors to spend our summers in the hay patch and put up as much hay as we needed and to sell any excess to neighboring states that didn't have enough. For the most part, I've always kind've used the figure in my head that a good round bale of grass hay would cost or be worth roughly $25-30. It's been that way for years. While diesel fuel has been on constant rise and labor rates have increased, the price of hay has been pretty steady in my area for 15 years.

Now, roll ahead to 2011. We're in statistically the worst drought in Oklahoma history. While our neighbors in Texas are in worse shape than us, we haven't seen temps and drought like this in recordable history. (Even during the dust bowl of the 1930's.) Some of the hay patches that I would normally put up 100 round bales on this year made me 10 if I was lucky. (And that was prior to June.) The only hay that can be found to buy is from states north and northwest of here and it's costing $85-90 per bale if you're lucky enough to find any. I talked to a hay broker the other day and he said he's got some big dairies and ranches out in drought stricken Arizona and New Mexico that have standing orders for a semi load of hay per day if he could find it for them.

In years past, while we may have had seasons that didn't afford us the moisture to store up a lot of excess hay we could still apply commercial fertilizer or use the ol' manure spreader on our bermuda grass pastures right prior to the first frost to lock some above ground protein in what was growing due to Fall season rains. This year, we haven't started getting any rains to speak of. The only moisture my pastures have seen in 3 months has been .6 inches that fell a little at a time over this past week. While it was happily accepted, it was too little too late. The ground slirpped it up like a dehydrated wafer in a military MRE!!!


I remember one time hearing my grandpa say, (who was mighty wise if I might say myself), "If you're not feeding last year's left-over hay you're in a bind and don't realize it yet." I didn't realize what he was saying until this year. Too many times in the past I've seen myself as well as neighbors and friends get past the point of haying in early spring and sell off our excess hay to neighboring drought stricken states. I've even seen some capitalize on the downfall of others by price gouging those in need. Now as I reflect on the situation I'm in, (Sold every bovine on the place with the exception of 3 milk/nurse cows and the feeder steer in the lot), and I wonder "How is the American farmer going to continue through this?"

Anyway, just feeling the need to vent so I thought I'd lean on my fellow HT'ers for a bit!!

[sammyd]

I've got hay from 3 years ago yet not much but enough.


Got 140 or so rounds of oat straw from last year if anybody want to try feeding that....

[kycrawler]

Where there is money to be made people will always find a way . I sent 22 semi loads of hay west to oklahoma and texas My feeder holstien steers are now on about 1/3 of the hay they would normaly get but are on free choice corn silage and distillers grain . One of our local seed corn producers had 900 acres of seed corn that had roughly 8-10 kernels per ear . We chopped alot of cheap silage this year . Our hay went out west . I sell quite a bit of hay on a good year but always keep some back wether it be barn stored or stacked on the field edge . We ran into about this same situation 4-5 years ago where ours burnt off early and I had to buy alot of hay and decided to plan ahead a little better for next year.

The real question is what are feeder cattle prices going to be like next spring around green up time . I understand not being able to justify keeping cows and calves with the cost of feed but where are all the cattle going to come from to fill the feed lots and pastures ? I think we are going to see some high dollar feeders next spring .

I normally winter over about 60 holstien feeders that we start from bucket calves . This year we are buying more bucket claves and beef breed light weights to get started for next spring in anticipation that prices will climb like I hope . If all goes well I hope to winter over 200 head and sell back down to about 75 in april and may when the grass greens up and the cheap feed from this year runs out

[SCRancher]

You feed your oldest hay first correct?
Reason I ask is that hay looses quality over time even when put up correctly and stored in the dry.

By feeding oldest first you can last out a drought feeding consistent lower quality hay vs feeding great hay at first then garbage hay at the end?

Thanks - don't plan on buying hay this year as I have been fortunate and plan on feeding stockpiled - bought enough last year thought!

[oneokie]

Am in the process of shipping calves and open cows. Plan on selling off until I can match the number of cattle to the amount of hay that I have.

Talked to someone on another forum that sells hay out of northern MN and was quoted a price of $170 ton for large square bales delivered. There is no way that one can feed that to beef cattle and make a profit.

Supplement feed has doubled in price since the first of the year.

[Gabriel]

Francis, I feel for ya. I moved from TX last year because we were just a little too far west for consistent rain. I was aiming for E. TX but overshot and ended up in TN! My dad in central TX is now stuck paying $115 per round bale...

[francismilker]

SCRancher, yes. You feed the oldest first. That way it doesn't decompose into compost before you get around to it.

oneokie, I too have penciled it out and from what I can see there will be NO profit off of anyone's retained cow/calf crop in 2012. If a person's paying $85 for a 4x6 roundbale and each cow will consume on average 6 per feeding season you'll have $510 in hay for the cow over the course of the season and that's before any supplemental feed/protein. If you factor in vaccinations and farm maintenance costs you're way below the black line even after you sell the calf.

[rancher1913]

got caught with my pants down when I first took over the heard from grandpa, luckily several neighbors went together and trucked in cornstalks to get us by. nowadays I get nervous if I don't have at last two years of feed stored. properly stored most feed will last a good while and any that starts to go bad gets fed in the fall to supplement the waning pasture with the best saved for subzero temps.

[Creamers]

"How is the American farmer going to continue through this?"

I wonder the same thing

[myersfarm]

American farmer that went to Texas from a place that got rain...bought pot loads of cattle ....will take them back to his state and make a good profit on them...thats the cattle farmer that can continue...the others will lose big time and take years to get back in the black

[mozarkian]

Lot of Texas cows making there way to Missouri now. I am selling some calves and one of the guys that called on them (from Montreal MO area) said he just recieved a "load of holstien steers from Tx"

[francismilker]

The last load of mama cows I took to my local sale barn headed towards Minnesota. There were a lot of buyers there and a whole line of semis ready to head North. I'm not sure what those cattle are costing those guys after shipping, but for the drought situation we're in right now I got what I consider a pretty fair price for my cattle. I'm told the national market is going to remain solid even though localized areas are suffering from weather related issues. The last time we had a drought and people started shedding cattle they tood a beating from buyers who were buying way below national average and selling them two states away for a pretty good profit.