Hay

[farmers_son]

I read today that the Province of Manitoba is providing assistance to hay producers who either suffered drought or flood on their 2008 hay crops. I read earlier that parts of Saskatchewan have reduced hay yields due to frost in the spring.

What is the hay situation out there and what is hay going to be worth this fall. I am hearing some above average prices but wonder how much people will pay to feed a cow through the winter.

[wilagro]

I hear 4.5 cents a lb. for good quality hay. I will sell mine at that price.

Cheaper to buy pellets than hay IMHO.

[per]

$70 to $90 good hay picked up in the field. More if you want to deal in small squares 10 or 20 at a time to the acreage trade. $8.50 a bale no mater what the bale weighs.

[grassfarmer]

I think it's getting dearer by the week f_s. We have got all ours purchased now but it was a challenge. Paid $66 a ton straight through for good first cut right next door, delivered to my yard. Also two lots of 07 hay (one lot second cut) that will both be hauled @100kms and still landed here for that price.
Supply situation is tight in Rimbey area so I'm guessing it must be worse elsewhere. Most growers around me are reporting 2 bales per acre where they had 3 last year. Many have sold cows and are now spraying out hay land to rent to the hutterites.
Most hay producers seem to want $40 a bale or even 4c/lb in the field - manageable if close to home but not if it needs trucked a distance. Most truckers want close to $15 a bale for a 100km haul.
The real expensive feed for me now is silage - close to doubled in price from 2006. It only pencils for my youngstock mixed 50/50 with hay and dropping the pellets out of the ration completely. Couldn't afford to feed silage to cows in any kind of mixture at current price hence back buying hay. Super green oat crop being swathed for me at the moment - I guess in a rush to beat the frost, probably only at milk stage but could run 10 ton/acre.
With prices heading the way they are I'm glad we will only need to feed cows for 70-90 days this winter!

[wd40]

Hay yield in the South Peace is 1/2 of a poor crop. Havn't heard any prices.

[smcgrath76]

Hearing 4 1/2 cents here in the field.
Barley was at $3.63 in Unity the other day, so that may become more of an option in a ration moving forward.

[poorboy]

Lots of frost in Alberta the last couple of days, which may create more feed grains and sample canola, which in turn could replace hay in lots of rations.

A few more threats on the grain crop and the price of hay may start to drop.

[kato]

It's too soon to know what the hay price will be in Manitoba yet.

We don't live in the Interlake, where it's just plain nasty, but still, we just finished our FIRST CUT on Saturday! Unbelievable, but at least we got our hay off, even though at least three quarters of it had rain on it. Going straight into straw baling now, except that it's been rained out too! It's looking like the grain farmers around here are going to have to go through what we've been dealing with all summer.

Time for a day off.

The situation in the Interlake is absolutely horrible. Not only has it rained and delayed the haying, it has left the hay fields under water. This is in an area that has a really high number of cow herds, and watching it on the news just makes you feel sick. These guys are in big big trouble, and no one knows how it's going to turn out.

Lots are talking about selling out. I guess they'll keep the cattle on pasture as long as possible, and then make the decisions. There are some quite large herds up there, and the stakes are pretty high. Not a pretty picture.