winter feed costs

[cowman]

I was talking to a beefbooster breeder the other day and he figured it was going to cost close to twice as much to feed his cows, which sounds pretty close to right. That's just for the winter. He figured it cost him an extra month and a half this spring and he had to rent some additional pasture this summer. How much is it costing you a day to feed your cows?

[Muttley]

Last winter at this time I purchased barley for 1.85 bushel. This year it is 3.00 if you can find it. Hay was purchased last April at 40.00 ton. I now expect to pay between 120 to 140 dollars per ton for the same quality, again if it can be found. In Sk. we were told my power and energy would be going down, but according to the last bill for Nov. it was higher and it was warmer than last year.
One of the biggest problems I have is finding the feed grain, so much barley in my area went malting or is being sent to Manitoba or Alberta.

[cowman]

A lot of farmers seem to be sitting on feed barley. Very little has been sold out of my area,which had a very decent crop considering the year. Meanwhile the corn is just flooding into feedlot alley. There is some good information in the last issue of Canadian Cattleman. I live close to the main highway between Edmonton/Calgary and the hay trucks continue to roll south. Some of this hay is landing in Montana at around $200 /ton Canadian!
Our power rates are going to go up in the new year when the Alberta subsidy comes off. Our natural gas has come down and farm fuel has really come down so I guess it all averages out. Haven't heard any fertilizer prices yet but I would assume they will be down. The oil patch has really dried up with little exploration happening.