Is anyone else stock piling hay for the winter ?

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BBH

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Keep hearing about the wet summer ruining hay making and there could be a winter shortage.

Now I know we have had scare mongering before but...


We have definitely had a wet summer though
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We have 300 at £1.50 a bale
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Farmer had a brilliant first cut, and is planning on doing a second cut as soon as harvest slows down a bit. He stores them for us in his barn, and we pick them up as and when we need them.

Every year they bang on about hay shortages, and every year people panic, and every year there are tonnes of adverts come March/April for barn stored hay at £1 a bale (or is that just around here?)
 
I pay £5 per bale here and I have never been able to buy it at those prices. Last winter some of them were £6 but what can you do the horses need it.
 
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I pay £5 per bale here and I have never been able to buy it at those prices. Last winter some of them were £6 but what can you do the horses need it.

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I don't think I could afford horses if it was that much around here! I get through at least ten bales a week! The most I have paid was £3 a bale, but that was from YO as we had to buy from YO and couldn't bring our own hay in. The farmer we get it from now charges £2/bale but lets us have it for £1.50 as we buy so much and my OH does a lot of work for them.
 
i'm not too worried , it has been a decent crop this year around where i live , we got 120 bales in last night off our own land & the farmer who does it for me has got a good crop in , incl loads of small bale hay , whereas last year he ended up with mostly haylage ( as did i ) he is currently selling out his small bale at £3
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LOL tell me about it, I get through about 7 per week so it sure adds up. My boys do have it adlib though so my fault it costs so much I guess.
 
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I pay £5 per bale here and I have never been able to buy it at those prices. Last winter some of them were £6 but what can you do the horses need it.

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Whereabouts are you? Someone here might be able to get a better price (at the very least, I'll make a mental note to never move there!!).
 
Hampshire, to be fair the hay is good and the bales heavy so I don't feel ripped off but yes the same size cheaper would be good.
 
I have already bought enough for a year and did so off first cut as I was terrified of this happening. I managed to get it all for £3 a bale and am glad I drove a hard bargain now!
 
I don't think there will be a shortage this year. Not round us anyway. Everyone went mental during the June heatwave and managed to get it all done then. It's just the second cut we are having trouble with. We haven't had the weather and one of the hay fields is flooded and now we are in the middle of harvest so it's what to do first.

We charge £2.50 if you collect and £2.75 if we deliver. Big round bales are £15 to collect and £18 to deliver.
 
I've got a whole winters worth of hay in already - lots of scarmongering about but its probably going to be the same as every other year and come to nothing - this year though i'm ona budget so a couple of days hard work in June and its all here cheap and ready for my neddies.
 
Hi There.

I have been told by the farmers I know locally that this year is much better for hay, than last year and the year before.
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Also, the bales I think you buy are bale and a half size (around 16 sections per bale) so therefore more money, the standard ones are around £3.50.
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Hello trouble,

Is Phil doing some this year do you know ?

Even better idea , i'll send my two over to you for winter feeding
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I usually get mine off the field locally at £2.50 (same place for about 15 years). However, when it got to early August and it still hadn't been made (and it was STILL raining!) I ordered some from another farm. It's lovely organic June hay with no weed etc and it was £3.50 per bale delivered and stacked. The guy said that the yield was only 50% of what they usually expect, at 50 bales per acre. My usual supplier still hasn't made theirs so I'm breathing a sigh of relief!
 
Even when we had that terrible flood 2 yrs ago and everyone was panicking, and hoarding hay, there was loads around come the new year!!! And boy didnt it come down in price.

There will be plenty for everyone ASLONG as people dont start panic buying cos that will put the price up for everyone.

Also many people feed haylege these days, that is much easier to make as you only need a couple of days of drying time.
 
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