In article ,
rachael simpson wrote:

Cheryl Isaak wrote:
On 7/28/07 5:59 AM, in article , "George.com"
wrote:

A couple of nights ago whilst driving home on the open road I found 2 bales
of hay. I managed to get them in the car & figured I had saved myself $20,
$10 a bale is about right.

$10/bale???? I hope that's for Alfalfa, or Timothy at that price....

I spread one bale around some trees today as mulch. I reckoned I had done
well until I noticed all the thistle seeds in the mix.

rob



I believe that is filed under - oh SHIT! Rake it up and compost on hot!
Cheryl


I agree with cheryl......big uh-oh.....thistles got to go....

'round here square bales go from $2.50+ (depending on quality, sprayed &
or not sprayed). You can get a nice big round bale starting at $15+.
Of course with the way the weather has been here, I wouldn't be
surprised to see hay prices go up. Every one will be short on hay this
year...we've only cut each field 2-3 times so far. By this time last
year, we had already gotten at least 5 cuts. We're talking 100 or so
round bales per cut.....that adds up.

Rachael aka Rae
Co-owner/operator
Simpson Hay Farms

Wow, regional differences...

We are proud to get one cutting a year of timothy a year. We started
mowing two days ago. When we sell hay, we get $9 in the field for a
50# square bale. (We can't grow alfalfa. Our soil pH is wrong.) We
don't spray. (Are you talking about spraying with propionic acid or
herbicides?)

When we sell a 5x5 round bale, it's $60. Mostly we don't sell any,
but if we have a few extra and a neighbor needs some, we'll sell a
few bales. (Squares go for nearly $500/ton here in February!)

We normally put up 1000 square bales and 200 ton of round bales to
feed our cows and several really bratty horses. We normally have to
feed for 250 days/year. (High latitudes, deep snow country.) Our
protein runs between 8 and 13%, depending on the year. (I'd have to
look in my records to give you ADF & TDN's.)

Chris and I mowed a 30 acre meadow in 5 hours today. We may have set
a land-speed record for our place : ) Our newest tractor is a 1964
Ford 881 and our oldest is a 1951 Model M John Deere. That's what we
were running today, both with sickle bar mowers. (Don't laugh -- all
of our equipment is paid for, and we can fix all of it with a
screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a cresent wrench. Or damned near.)

Anyway, I found some yellow hawksbeard in one meadow last year. It's
a horrendous noxious weed that will totally invade a hay meadow, if
given half a chance. I carefully mapped the location of the weeds,
then forgot all about it this spring. The stuff is *really* hard to
eradicate, because it spreads by seed _and_ by creeping rhizomes.
(When I found it, I pulled every plant, bagged them and burned them,
but I know the roots will kick up new plants this year.)

We stopped letting friends park their pickups and horse trailers on
the ranch, because vehicles transport noxious weed seeds in mud on
the vehicle frames so efficiently. We provide alternate parking on
an old log deck away from our hay meadows. (We're at the trailhead
of a popular place for people to ride their horses.)

Jan in Alaska