Well, I finally called our hay guy. And as I suspected, all the hay went to TX. I was a little miffed as he was supposed to call us when it was ready, but he said he didn’t bother because he knew it wouldn’t have been good enough for us. Well, this may have been true, but I wish he would have given us a chance to at least look at some. Because honestly, I don’t think we’re going to get anything near what we’d really want this year. I don’t think there will be any Bermuda hay around here. I suspect he’s just getting better money by shipping it south.
So we’re on a hay hunt now. I’ve called a guy up in Missouri that has some fescue / orchard grass hay for sale and I think we’re going to have to take it. It’s an hour and a half drive one way, so it’s not a huge distance to travel, but it will definitely up our actual cost because diesel fuel is close to four bucks a gallon and we’ll be hauling a pretty heavy load. I think we’ll be able to haul eleven round bales on the trailer, and another one in the back of the truck. I figure we’re going to need a minimum of twelve bales to get us through until the spring cutting…..assuming the first cutting comes the first part of June. The guy I called had his number listed in the regional Horse Trader magazine, so I’m hoping that he still has some when we’re able to make the trip this weekend.
Cross your fingers for us, would ya?
Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteWe are looking to buy a squeeze (62 or so 100-pound bales) ourselves this week because the feed stores around here are saying bermuda and alfalfa are both going to be over $20 a bale here shortly. That should last us through the winter.
Us too!! I wrote about this on my blog today--we tried to get hay over the weekend. No dice. :(
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ReplyDeleteFingers, toes and eyes crossed. There is nothing - nothing - more unnerving than having to search for hay. My hay guy had hay, but I've had to toss over two bales to mold. I've never had any problem before. I think he just had to cut it and hope for the best. Let us know how you fare.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! What a frustrating hunt!
ReplyDeleteSorry we couldn't get our bales to ya.
ReplyDeleteFingers, toes, eyes...and everything else crossed too. Let the hunt begin!
ReplyDeleteDid you know MU has a database with hay for sale in Missouri?
ReplyDeleteGood luck; this has been such an unusual year that it is hard to find and most of it is going to Tx for outrageous prices.
Let us know how it works out.
gld, thanks for the info., may have to try it that way. I did end up getting eight large squares of a mixed grass hay yesterday (not too much straw / sticks in it) which the horse & mule will probably eat most of, but the goats are going to probably waste 1/2 of it. Sixty-five bucks a bale though. Ouch. Still have to get at least another four bales though. If things get really bad, we can feed the goats alfalfa pellets this winter, but that's going to cost a LOT more money.
ReplyDeleteAnother problem with getting it from "someone else" (other than our "usual" guy) we really don't know what we'll be getting until we get there. I hate to make two trips, but if we'll be getting a flat-bed load of hay, I'll probably make the trip up there first in the car to check it out before we hitch up the truck with the trailer and THEN find out it isn't worth it.