Is hay in short supply for 2010???

lannerch said:
there is lots of grass here and they are cutting already. Never seen the hayfields looking this good so early.

The local large scale haylage maker in the area says they will be starting cutting next week so no sign of shortage here.

2009 hay on the other hand is getting harder to find
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from what i saw today frm Newport northwards, i was surprised at how early big bales were done and how many! also loads of small hay bales so i think Wales will be ok!!
 
Our YO did the headlands yesterday and the crop is fantastic! He fertilized this year because we took over most of his hayfields when we moved our herd in but the remaining fields have a very healthy sward and we will have enough to last us the winter thank God!
 
Walked through my hay field monday,althought it looks good from a distances it's very thin at the bottom, so yes hay is going to be in short supply round here. And I take it that they are talking about Haylage bales in Wales and not hay bales as to early to cut for hay??
 
I have my horses on a farm where our farmer grows and cuts our yard hay. He too is worried sick that we will have a hay shortage. Normally we have two cuts of hay, one in May and then one in August. But due to the weather being so warm and a lack of rain (until recently), our hay fields haven't been growing. He is going to cut our hay this week, but thinks it will be too late to try to get our second cut which will mean we are on a shortage for winter! :( xx
 
I have to say that in Essex / Suffolk border that the grass growth seems to have been very very slow. My fields are usually a good 4 or 5 inches and are only about 2 inches. Our lawn has also been very slow to grow and I have even had to water some of it to keep it looking green .... seems madness to being doing this in Spring!!!! We have been going weeks without rain and they are predicting a long hot summer, so maybe some areas of the country are going to be harder hit than others i.e. Eastern / South East areas?
 
johnrobert said:
Walked through my hay field monday,althought it looks good from a distances it's very thin at the bottom, so yes hay is going to be in short supply round here. And I take it that they are talking about Haylage bales in Wales and not hay bales as to early to cut for hay??
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no, these were small hay bales. very green but definitely hay, the big bales were silage.
 
also remember the price of red diesel has gone up along with other running costs and we bought 2grand of fert this year for the first time to try and get more grass as our barns are empty and iave to feed farmstock before suppying horse customers
 
My friends back at my old yard are desperate to find affordable hay - usually they buy hay off the yard because they do not have much storage - max 10 bales at a time and the YO has put the price up from £3.50 to £8.75 a small bale :eek: saying he is having to import it from Scotland and its racehorse quality. They were ringing around the other day and couldn't find any. My current yard where I am on part-livery is OK as the YO has a deal with the local farmer to supply hay all year.

I was thinking of going back there on DIY but I couldn't stand the stress of wondering whether or not I could get any hay nor afford it at that price.
 
Hmmm, mixed reports then!

Farmers have been cutting hay here for a couple of weeks. That's why I texted my hay man, as I didn't want to be caught out as I change pallets every year, due to dirt floor. My OH drove past the fields in question yesterday and said the hay looks fantastic (and he's done enough haymaking to know!).

I have been looking at other options, but round here most have switched to big bales and my storage is too awkward to get at to do biggies (or I'd love to!).

Thanks for feedback, though!
 
My supplier is a smallholder & I went to see the meadow my hay comes from last week. He only does one cut a year & the grass has really come through over the past few weeks. He has no worries about the amount he will get off the meadows.....his only worry will be, as last year, that there is sufficient dry days to harvest it when the time comes.

I order & pay for 12 months supply of hay each year & he keeps it for me in a secure barn so providing I've done my sums correctly I never run out. ;)
 
Since the recent rain the field we have cut for hay has shot up. Was beginning to think it might never make it after winter but relieved that it has. The contractor who cuts it says he's run off his feet with silage and haylage at the moment and doesn't foresee a shortage of winter fodder around here. Our hay won't be cut just yet but I will be doing a Sun Dance when the time comes that we get it in okay.
 
We are on the cambs/beds border and we are inundated with grass!! Our haylage supplier who also does hay and straw has not changed his price nor has a shortage.

Used the same hay/haylage man for 10 years now.

Think your farmer maybe hedging his bets a little

True saying you never see a farmer on a bike as they driving their top of the range brand new combines and air conditioned tractors!
 
We're in Suffolk and our hay field looks quite good and we are hoping (weather permitting) to cut next week.

I still have 30 bales left from last year and have been asked if I want to sell it but I usually keep some old hay back...."just in case". I have been offered more than I sold it for last year.

We only grow for us and any surplus we sell to friends straight from the field. I charged £2.50/bale last year, but I think we'll charge more this year!! Did hear that it was £5/bale in Kent at the early part of this year?!
 
foraday said:
True saying you never see a farmer on a bike as they driving their top of the range brand new combines and air conditioned tractors!
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Not many of them actually own the top of the range combines/tractors though... and they go without many other things - it's very hard to make a living out of farming.
 
Not read all this thread but we ordered our hay from our usual supplier weeks ago as my (farmer) brother in law warned us it was going to be in short supply.

Grass was very late getting started and is way, way behind up here. We restrict the grazing in our fields and normally by now the ungrazed parts are inches higher than the grazed. More like millimetres this year as not only was spring late, we have had record low rainfall.

Last year's crop was a disaster, then the hard winter and late spring meant everyone had to feed more than usual. So nothing left from last year to absorb some of the demand was a problem already, and a low crop this year means prices are sky high.
 
I was going to say no problems here but then my farmer phoned to say he has cut for haylage and he is only going to get about half the number of bales off the field than normal..thankfully we have preordered ours off the field at last years price but i dread to think what it might go up to..
 
We are in Surrey and the drought has really affected our grass growth this year.All the local farmers are saying that the quality of hay or haylage they have made this year is good but yields are 50% down.a local haylage maker I spoke to yesterday said it all depends on whether there is a good second cut or not.Their second cut is growing now but very slowly because we have had no rain.So if we get rain,haylage prices will be OK but if we don't it will be expensive!
 
Just seen the first trailer of our yard's come down the hill on the farm - looks scrummy! It shot away in the last two weeks (Oxfordshire) and I wouldn't be surprised if they manage another cut of hay of haylage this year, weather permitting....
 
Fransurrey said:
I thought there was loads of it. Everyone seems to be cutting early and it all looks fab in the fields.

I just had a text from my hay man (who I've bought from for the past 5 years) and he's hiked the price up by 250%, saying it's in short supply.To say he’s extracting the urine would be an understatement, I feel, as he doesn’t even store it – we collect straight off the field fresh from the baler! Anybody have any recommendations for hay off the field in Surrey/West Sussex?
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With the harder than normal winter more of last years hay has been used up and therefore there is not a much about. So this years new batch will be more expensive
 
This really anoys me, every year no matter what the weather, farmers say 'its a bad year'!
their just a load of greedy b*****s.
Why would this year be bad? we've had a bit of rain and lots of sun, perfect for hay making.
 
It depends where you are - we have only just been able to shut our fields off for hay & silage, fortunately the rain came just at the right time but the grass is already going to head, without any bulk in the bottom. OH, the enternal pessimist, has been trying to buy as much fodder in as he can and can afford for the livestock for next winter. Hopefully he will be making some hay of our own later on!
 
foraday said:
True saying you never see a farmer on a bike as they driving their top of the range brand new combines and air conditioned tractors!
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Humph :mad:, in our dreams! My OH's tractors are D & H reg, his combine A reg (27 years old!) and the air con packed up in both tractors years ago! He is only a lowly contractor though, all his land owning pals can afford much newer kit.

As for this years crop, if we have another summer like the last three, good hay will be in short supply and there will be plenty of rubbish about.

We have plenty here in Glos for £3 a bale if any of you guys from the SE fancy a trip! ;) Still got a good few bales of 2009 hay left and our grass is growing well, all the (old) kit is up together ready, now all we need now is some good weather!
 
if you truely believe al farmers sit in air con brand new tractors and are more money grabbing than bank managers and poiticians give it a try i hate sitting in tractors rather be shearing or trimming sheep smely feet any day.and buy hay elsewhere
 
kharber21 said:
This really anoys me, every year no matter what the weather, farmers say 'its a bad year'!
their just a load of greedy b*****s.
Why would this year be bad? we've had a bit of rain and lots of sun, perfect for hay making.
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Well, you come and help us make some hay and then we'll see how much you think it's worth!

Come and stack 3000 bales into a barn for less than the minimum wage, coz that's what we make out of it!
 
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Fertisliser is a ridiculous price at the moment.

Diesel is a ridiculous price at the moment

Wrapping (for haylage) is at a ridiculous price at the moment.

For those of you that dont make your own hay/haylage, its not just about how much grass grows!!

And as for A/C in shiny new tractors etc, The farmers dont own them....the banks do!

So the tractor, baler, roler, fertiliser, wrapper, digger, trailer etc etc that makes your hay, ALL need to be paid for to the bank!


And I havent even mentioned wages.

I aint no farmer but I do know that of maintaining a tiny 10 acre field is bloody costly!
I`m not suggesting that some of the hay sellers arent being greedy, all I`m saying is its an expensive business.

Up here in Aberdeenshire they are cutting the sileage just now, haylage/hay is going to be a good month away!
 
kharber21 said:
This really anoys me, every year no matter what the weather, farmers say 'its a bad year'!
their just a load of greedy b*****s.
Why would this year be bad? we've had a bit of rain and lots of sun, perfect for hay making.
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Sorry this REALLY annoys me. :mad: You rely on farmers so you can feed your horses, but you expect them to work for a pittance? How arrogant are you?

Have you seen the price of fodder? the price of diesel? The every day costs involved in farming just so the farmer can get your precious hay for you? We've had a HARSH winter, with farmers struggling. Do you not think they need to re coup their costs somewhere? And what about his own animals... should they go hungry because you want 1980's prices?
If you can't afford to keep a horse then sell it. There's always someone who WILL buy at that price because they accept that the farmer doesn't just waddle down the field and cut and bale the stuff by hand...
 
itsme123 said:
Sorry this REALLY annoys me. :mad: You rely on farmers so you can feed your horses, but you expect them to work for a pittance? How arrogant are you?

Have you seen the price of fodder? the price of diesel? The every day costs involved in farming just so the farmer can get your precious hay for you? We've had a HARSH winter, with farmers struggling. Do you not think they need to re coup their costs somewhere? And what about his own animals... should they go hungry because you want 1980's prices?
If you can't afford to keep a horse then sell it. There's always someone who WILL buy at that price because they accept that the farmer doesn't just waddle down the field and cut and bale the stuff by hand...
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dont throw stones.. glass houses and all that ...
farming isnt easy long hours and hard work however everybody is having a rough time at the moment and not all of us have the advantage of subsidy, and being able to run buisinesses from farms with low overheads, for instance . contracting and under cutting hauleirs and plant hire companys by using farm tractors to move diggers and building materal just as one example..
hay/haylage and straw is a competive market so as the year goes on prices will settle depending on supply and demand... hopefully everyone will be happy..
 
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