Hay prices

[PureCountry]

interestingly enough in the drought of 2002 I was buying hay from the Peace country and paying approximately $75.00 per bale delivered.
Last year there was ample hay in the province and judging by the row upon row of hay still in the hayfields this spring in the Peace, folks didn't sell as much so this year 75% of the acreage in the Peace is in canola according to my sources up in that country.

[cowman]

With any product there is a buyer and a seller. No one forces anyone to buy anything? There are always options?
In the drought a lot of guys ended up holding straw bales because they were trying to get too much money out of them. Instead of taking $50/bale they held out for $60....and ended up burning them! In the meantime in came the fusarium infested garbage from eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba!
What is a fair price? Was it fair that the Canadian government let in heavily subsidized American corn (2002) because the barley farmer was getting $3.30/bu. for his drought reduced crop?
Is it "gouging" when you ask four times the price of a steer calf, for one that isn't cut?
Like I said there has to be a willing buyer and a willing seller if anything is going to happen.

[cowman]

cowman you are right but sometimes there are those that will take advantage of their fellow man, and it eventually will backfire.

[cakadu]

Talked to the neighbor a couple of days ago and he said that down in the Olds area, people that were putting up silage were getting 2.5 ton to the acre versus 6 ton last year. They gave frosts as the reason for the yield difference.

What are some of the other yields like? In looking at the hay crops - both standing and lying in swaths, it looks like it's a pretty good crop and emrald said the crops looked pretty good in her area. It does look like decent haying weather for the next week.

With the moisture, the second cut should be fairly promising - unless we get little in the way of rain in July and August. I have to say that the pastures are coming very well and we are seeing more clover in them than we have for a good number of years.

[Cattleman]

we sell a lot of small square bales, but our problem lately has been finding a reliable trucker, pretty tough to find truckers willing to haul small square bales, and to help load etc.
For the winter we sell one or two semi loads a week, anyone know of any truckers in Saskatchewan around Saskatoon or someone willing to travel?
We could probably hook them up for a few loads if they wanted to come up and do a bunch at a time. Self unloading trailers are really the way to go, but not that easy to find either.

Thanks

[cowman]

My local hay guy has a truck that can pick up 160 bales and set them down. He bales them and stacks them. I cut the hay and tarp it. He usually markets it to the local horse market. Only have 120 acres in hay and last year he got 80 acres up...50 acres with no rain 30 acres with just a light rain on it. The rest got washed for about 35 days! Never turned it just ran it through the round baler with the back open and baled it two days later. Looked like hell but the cows seemed to do well on it.