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[RC] Hay Prices and group purchase - Joane Pappas White

In the drought years when water was scare but sun was a daily occurrence, we
produced 4-500 tons of alfalfa and a couple of hundred tons of oat hay.  At
its highest, our best hay was $125 but  that was short lived.  The average
during the drought years was $90-100 per ton.  



However, we came out of the drought in one giant step last winter and fall.
The summer was very wet and getting a cutting of hay baled and out of the
field without getting it rain on, proved to be practically impossible in our
area.  For the cows, that is still great hay, but for horses, it is not
acceptable so our premium quality horse hay is up in price in Utah right
now---but NOTHING like in California.



In Order to compare apples and APples, I would point out that some of you
are describing grass hay and grass/alfalfa combinations.  When you talk of
alfalfa, even horse quality is going to vary between third cutting leafy
dairy quality 22% protein alfalfa (which is really very high protein for
your horses and has to be fed with caution in limited amounts to endurance
horses) down to older field alfalfa that is About 12-14% protein and not as 
pretty and Leafy" but also not as hard on your horses kidneys.  First you
should decide exactly what quality and type of hay you want and then look at
the shipping.  Right now if you buy direct from southern Idaho producers,
you should be able to buy good to excellent horse blends of alfalfa/grasses
at $85 a ton.  I noticed a number of truckers who would still transport hay
as a pickup lot on a return run for basically the cost of their fuel.  



We have shipped our alfalfa to friends in North Carolina.  Because of their
prices on the East Coast and South for Alfalfa, they could afford to buy the
hay at $85 a ton, have it loaded here in Utah IN AN ENCLOSED SEMI TRAILER SO
IT WOULD NOT GET DAMAGED GETTING ACROSS COUNTRY--pay the standard shipping
of a $1 per mile (during the 1999-2002 time period) for the 1800 mile trip
and still save money.  I was stunned but they did it several years in a row.
Now fuel prices would probably affect that decision but perhaps their local
prices would still justify it.



If any of you are interested, I have a number of contacts who sell their own
hay and transport it for the intermountain West.  I could get you some rates
 I know it would beat $17 a bale---no matter what that bale was.  If we
have a good hay year, I would still love to sell some of our hay to the
endurance community in Napa----hahhhaha---for a lot less.



Joane and the Herd

Price, Utah 

Lyoness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

www.Ladyjlivestock.com 



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