Hay 2022

holeymoley

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I don’t really think there is a hay crisis. There’s good growth and a lot of places have already cut and baled the first lot. Realistically there’s no reason for prices to increase dramatically unless it’s towards fuel & labour. I know a lot didn’t use fertiliser this year which in my eyes is a bonus. Anyone that’s prices have gone through the roof are looking to cover their expense on fertiliser or they’re just chancing it.

Eta- i’m not adverse to a slight increase in the current climate but I have heard of people sticking an extra £20/£30 on top of a bale making them completely unrealistic (£75?!)
 

rabatsa

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Next door has increased his hay price by £15/bale to cover the extra fuel and wrap price.

He has already made the decission to plough out 100 acres of grass and grow wheat next year.
 

hock

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I don’t really think there is a hay crisis. There’s good growth and a lot of places have already cut and baled the first lot. Realistically there’s no reason for prices to increase dramatically unless it’s towards fuel & labour. I know a lot didn’t use fertiliser this year which in my eyes is a bonus. Anyone that’s prices have gone through the roof are looking to cover their expense on fertiliser or they’re just chancing it.

Eta- i’m not adverse to a slight increase in the current climate but I have heard of people sticking an extra £20/£30 on top of a bale making them completely unrealistic (£75?!)
There’s been a huge amount of talk about hay prices going through the roof due mainly to the prices of diesel and fertilisers. Like it or not fertilisers get the third and even fourth crop of hay meaning prices are low because there’s an abundance. However prices so far in my area haven’t gone up which is good news.
 
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hock

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Next door has increased his hay price by £15/bale to cover the extra fuel and wrap price.

He has already made the decission to plough out 100 acres of grass and grow wheat next year.
This is what I was expecting, diesel fuel and wrap have obviously rocketed.
 

J&S

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I recently spoke to a local contracter here in Devon, he said no shortage of hay but we must assume price of making it has gone up.
 

irishdraft

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Absolutely loads of hay & haylage being made here so plenty available but of course costs have risen.
 

exracehorse

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My supplier has had a fantastic cut this year. We’re Suffolk. He says with the added fuel prices. .. he will increase. But only 5 pounds more for a big round bale. To be 35 pounds.
 

xDundryx

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We are Norfolk/Suffolk border on a working darm and so far farmer is pleased and taken first cut. We're all budgeting for a slight mark up like others have said.
 

tda

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It's got a go up a bit, fuel costs for definite. Bale wrap last year £65 per roll, this year £82 per roll.
We haven't fertilized either, I suppose next year will show if that has made any significant difference
 
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CanteringCarrot

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I would think that it would undoubtedly go up a bit due to the increase in cost of fertilizer, diesel, and wrap (if you buy wrapped bales).

If the weather is decent, there shouldn't be a shortage, but there are possibly some suppliers thinking about something else for next year/if it'll be worth it.


You all (generally, in the UK) have had such cheap prices on everything horse related (including horses) for a long time, and even some of these increased prices aren't terrible. I know me saying that doesn't help anything at all, it's just an observation.
 

poiuytrewq

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It's got a go up a bit, fuel costs for definite. Bale wrap last year £65 per roll, this year £82 per roll.
We haven't fertilized either, I suppose next year will show if that has made any significant difference
Out of interest as we don’t wrap but how many bales of whatever size you do per roll?
 

TPO

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My farmer has already told me hay is going up but he doesn't know to what yet.

Fertiliser and fuel related rather than how good, or bad, a crop they are expecting.
 
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hock

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Well I’ll have about 50 of my own round bales this year so will still need to buy in haylage and hay but I think it will be ok. It started me off on a flurry of ordering my winter bedding though and my god that’s a shock. I’m sure I bought off white horse energy last year at roughly £260 a pallet and it’s now nearly £400. I want to buy about 4 pallets and I was going for wood pellets but tbh I’m thinking of straw pellets now.
 

dorsetladette

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2 years ago hay was really hard to come by around here. It was so hot for so long that we didn't get any grass growth. Even then I was only paying £4.5 and £5 for small bales. I then went on to 6ft rounds at £45 a bale.

Since then I've built a really good relationship with a local farmer. (the £45 a bale supplier) I take a trailer load off the field, wrapped. He deliver's it and stacks it for me. This year he is taking back the ones I didn't use for his cows and bringing me fresh.
We are both happy with the arrangement so win win.
 

Ceriann

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I’ve bought half my haylage supply already and will buy the second from the same supplier when they do their second cut. Very reasonably priced, delivered and stacked. There are a lot out there trying to get £20 more a bale!! Crazy!
 

HashRouge

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Every year someone starts the hay shortage rumour! Prices might go up but its not because of a lack of hay!
This! I was a bit freaked out this year by the doom mongers saying farmers just wouldn't cut any hay and there would be massive shortages. Glad to see that's not the case...I don't mind prices going up so long as I've actually got hay to feed my horses!
 

southerncomfort

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I haven't seen anyone cut for silage this year which is very unusual. They all seem to have gone for round bales of hay instead.

For the farmers this might well be because of the cost of the plastic wrap.

My hay supplier usually only does small bales but his first cut was round bales too.

I'm a bit stuck at the moment as no one has any of last years hay left and I don't have storage space for round bales.
 
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MagicMelon

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Prices have been mad in my area (Aberdeenshire), all claiming its because of fertiliser costs etc. I was quoted up to £45 a round bale! Someone yesterday quoted me £38 a bale (Id have to collect too!). Thankfully my regular supplier who had sold all his to some horsey person who must have panic bought and left me with none a few months ago, he has just confirmed he's baled some great quality stuff and will only increase by £5 from £20 to £25 delivered, but he delivers it to my door for that price two at a time as I need them so absolutely not moaning at that. So relived. I was really freaking out in case he wasnt going to make any this year!
 

holeymoley

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Prices have been mad in my area (Aberdeenshire), all claiming its because of fertiliser costs etc. I was quoted up to £45 a round bale! Someone yesterday quoted me £38 a bale (Id have to collect too!). Thankfully my regular supplier who had sold all his to some horsey person who must have panic bought and left me with none a few months ago, he has just confirmed he's baled some great quality stuff and will only increase by £5 from £20 to £25 delivered, but he delivers it to my door for that price two at a time as I need them so absolutely not moaning at that. So relived. I was really freaking out in case he wasnt going to make any this year!

You’re a bit similar to me. A yard I was at was paying £45 per round hay about 5 years ago which was very steep. I pay the local farmer £20 a round now- he’s just started making hay so some bale’s are a hit and miss but he delivers and will exchange if they’re bad. He may have to increase this year which is absolutely fine. His friend is chancing his arm though and firing his prices up to £50 a bale, maybe more.
 

GreyDot

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Ours has added £10 to each bale now for hay, not even the wrapped stuff, just the standard large round bale. Now at £45 when last week was just £35. Our fields have very little grass in them due to the lack of rain. Feed has gone up £5 a bag, chaff is now £18! It's not even winter yet...

Edited to add - and they are no longer doing haylage due to the wrap price.
 

Poingsettia

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Discussion on a local FB page suggested round bales will be £40 upwards. I haven’t confirmed prices with my usual person, but at the start of the year he hinted at £5 increase, so £30. He stores his bales in a barn right next to my winter field, so no delivery cost at least.
 

PoniesRock

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We normally wrap nearly 2000 small bales of haylage. This year we aren’t wrapping any. The price of wrap and the increase in the red diesel would make the sale price about £9.50 a bale, and I just think we would struggle to sell at that price so we are just making hay this year. The red diesel is nearly at £1.20 a ltr here and has hit us pretty hard - so unfortunately the cost of our hay bales will have to reflect this. We also haven’t fertilised this year. But we have spread some of our hay fields with slurry as a free alternative. So we shall see how that affects our yields.
 

maisie06

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Morning

Just to say in the last 24 hours I’ve had 2 big hay suppliers contact me offering really good deals on this years hay/haylage. So maybe the hay crisis isn’t going to be as bad as we think. Fingers crossed.

The two main hay farmers in my area both have plenty of surplus from last year plus plenty coming in already so no issues here in the SE.
 
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