Another bad hay year?

We (well, Paul) picked up six large round bales of hay this morning.  The guy we got it from said that he only got 147 bales out of one hundred acres.  He usually gets over 300 bales.

This is not good.

Last year, as anyone with grass and hay munching animals knows, was a devastating year for hay.  Although we had an "OK" hay season, most of our hay went down to Texas where there were horrible drought conditions.  And as the hay prices here are truly based upon supply and demand, that meant that even though we had hay, most of it went to Texas where it was being sold for insane amounts of money.  That also drove up the prices here.  The last crappy (and I mean C.R.A.P.P.Y.) bale of hay we bought at the end of the season went for $65.  And it is just sitting outside now, waiting to be rolled down the hill, hopefully to spread some grass seed as that is the only thing it would be good for.

This load of mixed grass hay cost $40 a bale, but I'm guessing they are going to be light bales.  Although we were swamped with rain earlier in the year, we're getting to that point where the word "drought" is coming up in daily conversations.  

My front "lawn" crunches when I walk on it.  And it's not even June!

The hay guy (not to be confused with the pecker-head-lying-hay-guy from last year) is going to be bailing some river bottom hay (a better quality) this coming week and I think I'm going to call him and ask him to hold another eight bales for us.  We'll (Paul, again) have to do some creative thinking to put it all under cover though.  But I think it will be worth it to not have to worry about running out like we were worried last year.
****
Well, I just got off with the hay guy and he said that he may not have eight bales available as most were already spoken for!  But he did say he'd get me as many as he could of the river bottom hay and if eight weren't available he'd make sure we got the remainder from the second cutting.  Assuming we get rain this summer to have a second cutting.  Ugh.  I hate worrying about hay.  

And even though we've got plenty of grazing ground for the goats, I've been having to feed them hay.  It's been 90 degrees or darned close to it the past week so they've been hiding out underneath the barn where it's cool and just coming out in the evening to eat their hay.  I haven't been able to stake them out to graze on the green stuff because it's just too hot already.  

Guess I'll be looking up "Rain Dance" in my Magical Almanac pretty soon.  I hope it doesn't entail me getting down to my skivvies.