Hay!!!!

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Sandstone1

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My normal supplier has let me down. Is it really in such short supply this year?
I only have two to feed, one small pony whos a good doer and a 15hh who is quite hard to keep weight on.
Not sure what im going to do now have to try and find another supplier but not prepared to pay silly prices. What is everyone else doing?
 
we cut over 300 less big round bales and there is no grass so im having to feed 3 small bales a day which i buy in for £3 each which i dont think is too bad considering what some people are paying:( but am running out of them rapidly
 
yep its in short supply. prices have gone up! small bales start at around £5 here (north somerset) some are selling for £7 a bale. farmers are getting half the amount they normally get.
 
I think the best you can do is shop around and if it is in really short supply maybe feed a hay replacer (grass nuts/chaff) and/or straw with the hay to bulk it out.

Hay prices do seem to be ridiculous. I was shocked when I read that someone was paying 5 pounds per small bale!
 
ours (sussex) is £6 a bale even though the y/o cuts it himself (personally i think its wrong him charging the liveries this as we're on site, do not see why he couldnt charge us loyal ones £3-4 and out siders that he usually sends to £6, surely that makes sense, but i suppose when you have 5 of your own (or new oh's or children's) horses to bed, hay, water, someones got to pay for it!!) but there are places around that are selling for £5 and i think we can get the huge bales for cheeper as its bulk which is what i will be doing this week.
I hear more is coming down from Wales though? i could be wrong!
 
Well I have filled my store up already and cannot fit anymore in until some is used up. This will leave me with 90 more bales to find - 3 trailer loads...so not a lot really. I have no other storage so stuff it...I am confident I will find some and can do nothing more so I am not going to worry as there is nothing I can do.
In the meantime I have more grass than I need to strip graze during the day and will eak out my hay with a bit of high fibre haylage and chaff if needs really be. I can always get a couple of round bales in the trailer and store them in the field on pallets and under tarp if the worst happens...so that is only 8 or 9 rounds to find instead.
 
Thanks, think I will be looking in to hay replacers as I really do refuse to pay such silly prices.£7 a small bale! no way!
I have to say I think people are panicing and this is going to make matters worse.
 
I would do your maths carefully on the hay replacers if you decide to go this route - it can be a v v expensive alternative. I would consider supplementing with straw if you do find you have probs getting enough hay.
 
We have just brought some huge bales (6 string) at £50 each, they were £40 earlier this year! small bales are £5/£6 (Sussex))

We had to go onto haylege last winter as the hay ran out, all the horses did well on it so we will be buying that in when we have room for it.
 
I will maybe look in to getting some straw if nec. Just refuse to pay stupid prices for hay. I realise it hasbeen very dry and th grass has not grown well but I think some suppliers are just being gready.
 
Yes -It's in short supply in the south east/Sussex- I only have one horse on hay and I managed to buy some lovely meadow hay off the field for £2.50, so I bought over a years supply until next years is ready- hay round our way is ranging from £4.50 to £8.00 a bale for this years, depending on where you buy it/if you can get hold of it. A lot of suppliers are putting their prices up and I wouldn't mind betting that Jan/Feb locally produced stuff will be scarce and if you can find it elsewhere/get it delivered from somewhere else in the country -ridiculously expensive. I do think people should refuse to pay the high prices, but theres not much we can do I guess?....

My haylage suppliers should hopefully have enough to be able to supply us and they are not letting people buy in bulk they've said...... I'll be stocking up on small haylage bales as well, just in case they and other suppliers run out.
 
Also- sorry this may be a silly question!!- will chaff/Alfalfa products be in short supply as well? if hay/haylage is in short supply in some areas of the country?.....
 
It is expensive, but why should suppliers not increase the prices? If demand outstrips supply, then the price will go up, just like any other product! Farmers don't make it as a hobby. They, like everyone else, need to make a living.
I must admit that I have my fingers crossed for this warm and wet weather to last long enough for there to be a second cut - please grow grass!!
 
I think everyone expects a increase in prices but this is just stupid, I paid 3.50 last year, but as much as 7 - 8 a small bale is just not on. If people dont pay these prices then the price would have to go down.
People are panicing and paying silly prices. If people panic buy now it will only get worse.
I really fear for the animals owned by people who cant affod to feed them this winter.
I hope we have a good autum and a mild winter.
Im sorry but I really do think some hay suppliers and farmers are being greedy.
 
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itsmylife said:
I think everyone expects a increase in prices but this is just stupid, I paid 3.50 last year, but a much as 7 - 8 a small bale is just not on. If people dont pay these prices then the price would have to go down.
People are panicing and paying silly prices.
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If I had my own Hoss, I think I would pay whatever it took to make sure they had decent forage throughout the winter..... that is not panicing, its being practical. What if you dont pay the inflated prices, (which are inflated due to lack of decent yield, so farmers HAVE to cover their costs AND make profit), and then end up forgae free over the winter?

I saw hay advertised at £11 a bale recently.... now that is nuts.....
 
I can't see the prices going down tbh, around here at least there simply isn't enough good quality hay. Before this year the prices had remained static for quite a number of years.
I'm not sure if it will also affect chaff availability and prices - if you compare weight for weight then there is already a hell of a mark up for someone to chop the hay up!! If you struggle to feed adlib hay, then straw and soaked sugar beet are also really good fibre sources with slightly less of a scary price tag!
 
I agree with Itsmylife - some people are panic buying and it is just going to make the problem so much worse for everyone. :(

I cant get hold of any hay at all, no matter what size bale or at any price!!! :eek:
 
People will just push up the price by panic buying. Lets see what happens if we have a very mild winter and people have lots of hay left.
It is very unlikely that we will have such a bad winter as last year again this year.
I do realise that hay suppliers and farmers have to make a profit but being greedy will not pay off in the long run.
My animals will be well fed but I will not pay 7-8 pounds for a bale of hay!
 
As for winter it's meant to be just as cold - just look around you, there are so many blackberries that are already going past their best and weather forecast plan for a harsh winter.

Hay prices are mad, we're paying £3.25 (inc delivery and stacking) but some people are paying £5+
 
We have hay if anyone needs any.
About 500 left to sell.
Good quality used by top dressage rider.
We are charging £4 per bale and can store for free if you wish.
Can deliver within 10 miles radius.
In Cambs/Beds border
 
We have 500 bales left to sell if anyone wants any.
Good quality hay, must be good as top dressage rider uses it.
£4 per bale and will store for free.
Beds/Cambs border
 
hannah28 said:
why are you assuming this :confused: ? we are just as likely to have a worse winter ! look at the weather now ! we are in for a long cold winter ........
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Of course I dont know for sure, but after 40 plus winters it would be unusal to have two very bad winters after each other. We will have to wait and see.
What makes you think we will have another bad one?
Im afraid that what ever anyone says to me about it I still feel that people are panic buying which is just making the situation worse.
Hay suppliers are being greedy and charging too much.
 
If the farmers don't up the price (because they have been able to take less bales off the fields), then they will make proportionaly less £. Why should they have to do that? They are running a business, not a charity! They have to cover the costs of growing and cutting and storing the hay, as well as making some money to make it worth the bother. Less bales mean they have to make more money on each one in order to still cover the costs and pay themselves. They make so little on a bale anyway, you can hardly expect them to make less!

If you don't want to buy it, go right ahead. It is a free world, it is your choice. But if they charge what they do and people pay, that is their choice too! Even with the high cost of hay, I honestly think you will struggle to get any forage (other than straw) cheaper.
 
The thing is, people are complaining about "silly prices" but IMO they are not "silly". Supply and demand - supply is down, demand is up - people are charging the going rate. I have friends holding out for hay, saying they will only pay £2.50 bale, but hay price is rising, and they will soon be left with two options 1) go without 2) pay nearly £5/bale. We were lucky, we bought a lot of standing hay and had it cut, we have a huge surplus, which we will sell, and have been selling - OH tentatively put some bales on the 'open market' and could have sold them several times over for the £5/bale he charged.
 
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