Hay shortages going into winter

poiuytrewq said:
That’s a really good point. I find it weird that mine are fat considering we had zero grass all summer but a good way to look at it.
Oddly the two live out ones have the best looking grass now that they have had this year but are suddenly hungry and have started hoovering the hay that they were previously leaving up and needing it twice a day instead of that amount lasting.
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Temperatures dropped: been in the high 20s and 30s for extended periods this summer, down to 5 / 4C last night, with a north wind forecast. They’re not silly!
 
Jambarissa said:
We got 2 cuts of haylage, got more than enough, sold to the yard for £35 a bale or £10 per horse. The feedstore are charging £45 for rounds of hay or haylage and £6 for small bales of hay.

Nothing gone up since last year but I guess if you more southern people are having a shortage it'll travel down there then we'll struggle.

My farmer has been gradually burning his perfectly good leftovers from last year to make room - he doesn't like strangers coming to the yard so would rather destroy it 😬

My smallest one needs soaked hay so I have to buy in, I'm imagining I'll struggle come spring. I can buy a fair amount in but people nick it if you do.
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If you’re not a stranger, can’t you buy it and clear the barns for him? Could always sell it on later in the year if it’s decent stuff, hay will be short.
We’ve done this for a neighbour, taken his last year’s leftovers as part payment for doing all this year’s mowing and rowing up. OH could feed to cows, but I’ve been using for the horses, it’s really nice and they’re delighted!
 
I LOVE MY HAY FARMER!!!!

He's just phoned me - i actually thought it would be a mis dial - to ask if I want 14 big bales kept back until Xmas because someone is offering silly money. What a star! Apparently I'm one of the original big bale customers so they're mine if I want them. I do.

Big, big Xmas present due.
 
SEL said:
I LOVE MY HAY FARMER!!!!

He's just phoned me - i actually thought it would be a mis dial - to ask if I want 14 big bales kept back until Xmas because someone is offering silly money. What a star! Apparently I'm one of the original big bale customers so they're mine if I want them. I do.

Big, big Xmas present due.
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I bet you do!👍
 
I’ve already got all mine in (in August) ready for the winter. Currently have just one Shetland pony and a small flock of sheep so we’ll be ok. We have some big haylage bales and the hay is just small bales, so am worried about theft. I did consider cutting the strings but it’s all stacked now. We have several locked gates they’d have to climb over if they want to have a go, and it’s surrounded by very vigilant neighbours so they’d be really chancing it.

Yields are a third down around here (south). I buy mine in from the West Country but they’re saying existing customers only now, and they are a big supplier. Small bales locally to me are now £10 a bale.

I hope everyone manages to find enough to keep them through the winter 🤞
 
SEL said:
Vet was moaning last week that the Appy was fat & i was thinking if ever there's a year i need horses to go into winter with blubber it's this one....
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Ours have lost weight over the summer for the first time ever this year, even though we have been feeding hay.
Neighbour decided to cut their hay earlier than usual during a dry spell and because we then had no more rainfall to speak of, they didn't get a 2nd cut.
Fortunately we have a well-established relationship with our hay supplier who brings us 2 haylage bales every month, as we don't have much room to store them. Despite the hosepipe ban here he isn't warning us of shortages. In fact we discussed storing 5 bales at the top of the field in case of emergency, like being snowed in, when he was last here.
 
Not sure about the claims that "Wales" has plenty...yes it's a small country but I can assure you that many parts of Powys and the north east definitely don't have much at all. We have been in drought since March so the June cut, when I usually buy mine, was rubbish. I know one local supplier is hoping for a late cut - the grass is growing but it won't be great and what they can take will only be backfilling some of the shortage for some of their existing customers.

I've seen plenty of cheap bales advertised in other parts of the UK, it's very much regional but if like me you're in one of those regions you're stuffed.
 
I know I'm quite far from everyone most of you, but I am in West Wales with hay I can spare to sell if anyone is in dire need and willing to make a trip. It's traditional meadow hay, late cut in big rounds. Just putting it out there as I know things are dire in some places, and our equine overlords are scary when hangry
 
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AutumnDays said:
I know I'm quite far from everyone most of you, but I am in West Wales with hay I can spare to sell if anyone if in dire need and willing to make a trip. It's traditional meadow hay, late cute in big rounds. Just putting it out there as I know things are dire in some places, and our equine overlords are scary when hangry
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Well, that’s about as kind and considerate as could get, gratitude forthcoming, I should hope!
 
We had a field cut for hay this year which gave us 10 round bales. Last year we had 21 off of it…
Luckily we have some left over from last year, although not as much as I’d like as I had one on box rest over summer.
Typically I’d give them as much as they could eat if they were in overnight in winter, but this year I’ll be weighing nets.

Almost all of the local suppliers around me aren’t taking on any new hay customers and are just supplying existing. I arrange ordering in small bales for my elderly neighbour and our hay man is happy to keep us on but no idea what the price for small bales will be yet.
 
Just hoping for a mild winter, if not, I think there are going to be many people who struggle and really sad welfare cases.
It’s not even a question of price here, there just isn’t enough supply.
My hay man says he has enough for a mild winter, but he will only drop off a max of 4 hestons a time to encourage all his customers to understand the problem.
He is a lovely man and really worries about some of his customers on tight budgets and limited grazing. I normally give him a tip for delivering - and he puts it in a pot to subsidise hay for some of his struggling customers!
I have a stock of grass nuts and beet pellets to help me eek out the hay.
 
canteron said:
Just hoping for a mild winter, if not, I think there are going to be many people who struggle and really sad welfare cases.
It’s not even a question of price here, there just isn’t enough supply.
My hay man says he has enough for a mild winter, but he will only drop off a max of 4 hestons a time to encourage all his customers to understand the problem.
He is a lovely man and really worries about some of his customers on tight budgets and limited grazing. I normally give him a tip for delivering - and he puts it in a pot to subsidise hay for some of his struggling customers!
I have a stock of grass nuts and beet pellets to help me eke out the hay.
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He is a hero !
 
I have succumbed to the panic. I have my usual haylage order to tide us over winter. Supplier has only put middle sized haylage bales up £3.50 which is fine by me.
From April mine go onto hay and I was going to wait and buy peace meal from then through the summer but one local horse owner has literally gone around every supplier and purchased sh*tloads as he has storage. All the farmers have said they have are keeping a bit but they cannot guarantee prices and may ration it. I have hopefully found another supplier to sell me 10 round bales. They’re £25 pound more than I usually pay but I feel I need to be certain.
 
Well annoyingly my pony doesn’t need any but we’re getting through loads as we have a TB in the field who will drop off. It’s so miserable not being able to meet his needs. I need to move him for my sanity!
 
My round bale (this years hay) has gone up from £35 to £45. Warwickshire.

Supplier only estimates they have enough till Xmas.

Each round bale in deepest winter lasts Lari who is approx 650kg and 17hh 2 weeks and three days - that's at a feed rate of approx 3 - 4 medium sized nets per day and in overnight for approx 16 hrs a day.
 

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East Anglia
I had some delivered yesterday £43 including delivery, 4ft round. Last year I paid £35 for 5ft, which are so huge they make the 4ft look puny, and are difficult to move.
Barley Straw £20 per bale on the same load.
Not off the same farm, he is just selling loads for other people and organising delivery, some was going to Scotland.
I actually gave grass away this year, he was persuading me to let him bale it as he is local.
 
What we need is for horse owners to take steps to mitigate the issue rather than complaining about it - on our local Fb page at least. The grass here right now is brilliant, scary green and growing. Every other animal has been chucked out onto the grass to eat that without a strand of hay in sight. Yet we still have horse owners (who have their own land and therefore could do the same) buying hay and complaining about the price. People I know, whose horses absolutely could tolerate the current grass and who absolutely do have the option to open up their track (created because it’s the done thing not for any medical reason) and just let the horse eat!

We don’t normally need hay before Christmas. There is grass growing now and grass in the rested winter fields that will last Nov and Dec. If everyone who could, held off on hay, everyone might make it through.
 
Jambarissa said:
We got 2 cuts of haylage, got more than enough, sold to the yard for £35 a bale or £10 per horse. The feedstore are charging £45 for rounds of hay or haylage and £6 for small bales of hay.

Nothing gone up since last year but I guess if you more southern people are having a shortage it'll travel down there then we'll struggle.

My farmer has been gradually burning his perfectly good leftovers from last year to make room - he doesn't like strangers coming to the yard so would rather destroy it 😬

My smallest one needs soaked hay so I have to buy in, I'm imagining I'll struggle come spring. I can buy a fair amount in but people nick it if you do.
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I would buy it. I have bought hay that has been outside for cows, only for mine to be more interested in that than the better stuff. My friend as bales of round hay that are at least three years old, she leaves one out and they pick it over.
I have lots of space for storage its just finding someone who has a loader to stack it. It will be interesting to see what the St Ives, Cambs winter sale will be like.

Brown & Co. | 2025 Annual St Ives Hay, Straw and Fodder Auction - ON SITE BIDDING ONLY

bid.brown-co.com bid.brown-co.com
 
A month or so ago my hay supplier of about 10 years standing advised that they would only have enough hay to reach until Christmas but have now told me I can only have another two bales! We go through 1 large round a week so this has been a worry but fortunately when they first said that they would not have enough hay I was able to find some-one who could supply me with 10 large 4 string bales and another who could supply me with 5 large bales of haylage.

I am now in the situation of having to give very serious consideration to having the two oldest pts.
 
maya2008 said:
What we need is for horse owners to take steps to mitigate the issue rather than complaining about it - on our local Fb page at least. The grass here right now is brilliant, scary green and growing. Every other animal has been chucked out onto the grass to eat that without a strand of hay in sight. Yet we still have horse owners (who have their own land and therefore could do the same) buying hay and complaining about the price. People I know, whose horses absolutely could tolerate the current grass and who absolutely do have the option to open up their track (created because it’s the done thing not for any medical reason) and just let the horse eat!

We don’t normally need hay before Christmas. There is grass growing now and grass in the rested winter fields that will last Nov and Dec. If everyone who could, held off on hay, everyone might make it through.
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One of the biggest issues around here is livery yards will have everyone in overnight from October and that will absolutely put pressure on hay supplies - especially where they ate the grass down over the summer.

I feel relieved to have only 3 on 7 acres. Although my land is wet if we get short then they'll be paddling around looking for food instead of stabled stuffing themselves.
 
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