So the hay and haylage crop is nearly in,how many of you have had a big jolt about th

[Enfys]

Well I'm down by 123 bales this summer and have been told hay in this area going for £8 per small bale. 8 POUNDS, Dear God! What weight are they? I pay $2 a bale off the field for 60-65lb bales of 30% alfa Bad winter and hot and dry summer, so grass has disappeared and I'm still feeding my 4 horses a large shortfeed to keep their weight on twice a day. (Don't want the RSPCA on my back). So how are others coping this summer and for the winter.

I took one, not so brilliant cut earlier, and decided not to take another as I usually do and am buying in for winter. I now have too much grass but not enough for hay, I have simply taken more Boarders on to eat the grass - and to pay for the hay they'll eat this winter, probably I'll get through 1500 bales if I start feeding in November through to early May. Depends when the snow comes really as to when I have to start feeding properly.

 

[JenTaz]

my yard owner has already done her first cut a few weeks ago, still has a few fields to do and in my opinion it looks as if we have gotten more than what we got last year, as the three places that she stores it (they are big round bales that get wrapped) are almost full and they are big spaces possibly capable of taking over 150 bales each maybe i dont know, but last year she had only half filled two of them this year they are all almost full, and some of the fields cut have a decent grass covering to take a second cut in about a month

 

[Spottyappy]

Plenty of fields cut here(Bucks) but yield down by 50%.
My supplier hasn't said he's putting prices up, but I imagine he will, it was £4 a bale delivered and stacked last winter. He has sold the big square bales for £70 each!And, that was to a hay merchant, so if you add on his mark up, I expect they will fetch £100 or maybe more, its looking very scary.
Have alot of grasss still in my own fields, we strip graze though and it seems I am one of the few lucky ones as other places seem to be devoid of the green stuff,and not much brown stuff either!

 

[Lanky Loll]

Cut and baled our haylage about 10 days ago - only make 12 acres and we were up about a dozen big bales on last year after putting the muck heap and some slurry on the field before winter

 

[Jingleballs]

You might be importing from Scotland, our grass is waist high and weve just had about 10 days of hot dry weather, plenty of hay coming in. Unlike last year when it was Sept before the miserable sodden remnants were gathered in.

Yip things are much better up here this year - we have too much grass - 8 horses with 12 acres - Y/O is actually considering taking a cut of hay off one of the rested fields because the horses will never eat that down before the end of summer.

I'm hoping hay is easier to come across this year - last winter we went through several suppliers of hay/haylage who kept running out!

 

[doris2008]

We're down from nearly 800 bales to 500 this year. Means we will have to buy in. Definatley going to prove an expensive year for us.