Hay prices

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poppy_c

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Hi all
what prices are people paying for hay. My normal supplier has stopped supplying hay due to shortages. All other suppliers are quoting at least £70 a round bale, is it the same for every area. I usually only pay £45 a round bale.
 
Depending on where in the country you are, you might be lucky to find an alternative. My big national supplier is not taking on any new customers currently after a poor second cut didn't allow them to catch up on low yields in the first cut

A friend at a big national show center paid £100 a bale a couple of weeks ago - she didn't have a choice
 
I'm paying £40 for a round hay bale in Suffolk and £4.50 for small square hay. I moved from Wales/Herefordshire in January and there was still plenty of hay in that area for £3 a small square and £30 for a round.
 
I was paying £40 for 4 string square haylage last year and am paying £45 this year, but the bales are smaller - 4ft as opposed to 4’6”. So probably more like £50 compared to last year.
 
My large rounds went up to £45 delivered this year but then my supplier of 15 years said that they could not supply me any more. I have found another supplier fortunately who is charging £60 for a rectangular 4 string bale delivered. Another supplier quoted £80 plus delivery but for a minimum order of 20 bales.
 
poppy_c said:
Hi all
what prices are people paying for hay. My normal supplier has stopped supplying hay due to shortages. All other suppliers are quoting at least £70 a round bale, is it the same for every area. I usually only pay £45 a round bale.
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There are regional variations, but if you need hay just buy it because there is every chance of none being around at all if we have a hard winter.

In central England prices range from £50 for a round and £110 for hestons, but there is very very little around and contractors are not supplying new customers.
 
My normal supplier is only doing wrapped hay now at £6.50 a bag. I've found bits of moss in some bales which leads me to believe it's old hay that has been stored a long time. Smells fine and the horses eat it but I've been trying to find alternatives. I've got some haylage from Cumbria (I'm in Yorkshire) a lot cheaper but it's a real pain to separate.
 
My hay guy has gone from £40 to £45 per round bale delivered! He’s not taking on any new clients though.
I’m only feeding hay when my mare comes in to be ridden. I’m strip grazing and they are still on Summer 2 acres. Will move them onto Winter grazing mid November and I’m hoping to leave them out 24/7 most of the Winter!
 
£48 per large bale of haylage. Stocked up in late summer. He's not taking on new customers either.
I do still have 50 small bales of 2024 hay if things get desperate
 
MY guy has increased prices from £35 to £40 from last year for a round bale. No one locally is taking on new customers and my guy has told us all to be very careful with it as he's worried it won't last.

Local feed store selling conventional bales for £7.50 each.
 
North East England, £53 for a round bale up from £43 last year 😬 i am only a one horse owner so can absorb the cost, i just hope he doesn’t run out. I’m being much stricter with my fussy horse this year and putting discarded hay back in his net
 
Down South I am paying £50.00 for one round bale delivered, which on average lasts my guys 3 and a bit weeks (Rabbit has 2 massive nets and clears those every night and Baggs has 1 massive net and clears 3/4 of it every night). I'm lucky that the price for me hasn't increased yet, but I'm fully expecting it to. I'm also being really strict with my two boys and any hay that they've pulled out the net but not eaten is going back into the net (providing it is clean of course!)
 
We make our own ( well we use a contractor) it costs us £25 on average to make a 4ft round bale of haylage. This year its cost me £45 to make it. Purely down to the yield, we got 50% of what we usually get, but still had to pay the same for mowing/tedding etc etc because it was the same acreage

But, at the moment with the grass growing really well here im not using as much. The broodies and 2 x youngsters are happy with the grass at the moment. Plus my haylage field now looks the best its ever done, so i can still turn out on that over winter if need be. Usually by this time my lot are on it, but not at the minute. So im hoping to keep mine off it over winter and get an early cut next year. Plus the farmers around here are still getting silage in.

An old farmer once said to me that mother nature has a way of righting itself. So lets hope hes right and this winter the grass will grow
 
I was gob smacked last night when the company I used to buy from said their small bales were £9.50 each! thats wild! I'm so fortunate that my farmer cuts hay just for our yard, so we're still paying £40 for a big bale. I've been going through 2-3 a month all year, due to the lack of grass!
 
kerrieberry2 said:
I was gob smacked last night when the company I used to buy from said their small bales were £9.50 each! thats wild! I'm so fortunate that my farmer cuts hay just for our yard, so we're still paying £40 for a big bale. I've been going through 2-3 a month all year, due to the lack of grass!
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I buy from the YO and I thought it was steep at £7! She does have oat straw this year, though, so I'm going to mix with that during the worst of the weather. One of my horsey contacts told me that she's been refused hay this year from her usual supplier - he's basically picking and choosing who he sells to! She's in a right panic as she only found out the other day, when she went to place her order. I normally hope for a crisp winter, but hoping for a mild one, now, so I don't need much hay! Added to our strife is the lack of root structure in the stressed grass. I'm strip grazing into the foggage and the horses are pulling up tufts of grass and earth - I'm trying to bed it back in like a demented groundsman, to no avail.
 
Suffolk. 40 pounds big round bale. 5.50 small bales. He should have enough to supply his regular customers but not taking on any new.
 
£40 a round bale, Suffolk. Same as previous year but bales are smaller as we're able to squeeze another in. Our supplier has said we can have the same amount of bales as last year, only slight bugger is we've started earlier but hoping it will level out once they come in at night and move onto the rested paddocks as then won't need hay in the field to begin with.
 
£50 a round bale in Essex atm, up from £38 last year. Supplier not taking on any new customers. Price may increase dependant on where he is having to source more in from. We are weighing nets now and reducing wastage as much as we can. We are on limited acreage so have to feed hay year round.
 
New Forest - Our yard makes it's own and yield down 50% - price only gone up £4 to £44 for a really heavy big bale (usually have plenty left by spring so hopefully we will squeeze through this winter). Grass has gone ballistic & we never need to feed hay in fields as so much of the stuff 🙈 all year round. Our problem is a massive crop of acorns, but that's for another thread....
 
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