Are we being gauged with hay prices, just like gas prices? Is there really a scarce amount ?

Question

I drive by the big farms and they have large amounts of hay put up...overflowing amounts. However, the word is that hay is scarce so they are playing on the opportunity to up their prices
on the small farmer that depends on their hay. I realize that each farmer has a right to set their price but isn't there some kind of code of conduct if nothing else that rules the farm industry...if not..they may as well all be used car salesmen ....looking for the next Buck..regardless of their fellow farmers.

Answer 1

You say you "drive by farms".....Does that make you an expert? Let me educate you.

Yes, it's true about the shortage of hay. I have no way of knowing where you live, but here in the Midwest we are suffering from a great drought. We always get 2 cuttings of hay every summer, and often get 3. This year my husband cut our hay twice, but the total amount of hay baled all year was less than the usual amount for 1 cutting. And we're hearing this from ALL the other farmers we know...and it is a huge concern for the entire agriculture industry and its branch industries.

Of course you see huge amounts of hay put up. It's hay season. What you are not seeing is: The amount of hay you are looking at is NOT going to be enough to feed the livestock all winter. We currently have 212 large round bales of hay put up. That is a lot of hay to look at. The problem is that we need at least 500 bales to make it through the winter.

What do we do? Simple. We do what we have to and that is to buy cattle feed made from corn to suppliment the hay. We usually don't have to and it is expensive.

We are some of the lucky ones. We do not live entirely on our farming income. I own my own business and my husband is in the Army National Guard.

As for pricing.....and our code of conduct - We charge exactly what all the other farmers around charge for hay (when we have to sell it)...why would we charge less? And why would we charge more? - the hay customer would just go to the next farmer down the road for hay. Code of conduct? I wouldn't go throwing that phrase around until I've researched the problem and discovered for a fact the farmers are cheating with hay prices. And, frankly, I don't think you will.

We usually don't sell our hay, but many farmers we know do. The average price is $35 - $60 per bale (depending on the type of hay) and I'm referring to those big, round bales...not the little square ones you can pick up with your hands. Let's break that down. We just updated our Farmowner's insurance policy so these numbers are fresh in my head: Our tractor cost $55,000. The hay mowing/conditioning machine $9,500. Baler $12,000, hay wagon $800. Sweat, muscles, knowlege needed to cut, bale and put up hay.......PRICELESS. What do you think of those hay prices now?

Oh, and here's a bit of advice my great-grandfather, grandfather, father and husband have had to give:
"Never criticize a farmer with your mouth full".

Answer 2

First off, I do wonder if you're confusing hay and straw. That happens all the time.
However......you don't state where you live. If, for example, you live in Ohio, there was a drought this summer. They got no 3rd cutting and the 2nd cutting was poor. The farmers who have "a lot of hay put up" need that hay because they're feeding a lot of dairy cattle, steers, etc. They can't spare to sell any extra this year. The drought was bad enough that it affected even the silage for the year, and virtually eliminated haylage. The dairy farmers I saw chopping the hay into feeders and feeding it directly, rather than making any into haylage. I haven't seen a silage tube yet this season.
Nope.....there really is a shortage. At least here. None to spare to sell. Even if the haymows are full, they're still not able to stretch that with silage.

Answer 3

there is a shortage in some parts of the USA. You see a lot of hay, but you don't know how many head of livestock they may have on feed, this hay may only last 2 or 3 months.

Answer 4

theres no scarcity. biggest theory/ lie in college because these idoit professors never actually done business. if you got the money- you can buy anything. we might be limited by the amount this month but doesnt mean we cant change it. it use to take 1 farmer to feed 1 family - now 1 farmer feeds well over 10000 families.