Do you think it is morally wrong to hoard hay?

Question

I live in an area that experienced a late freeze and a summer drought. Hay is definitely going to be a premium this year.

But, it can still be bought. I just bought in on a load of alfalfa trucked in by semi from out of state...at an equivalent of about $4.50 for a 50 lb square bale. Not the cheapest hay I've ever bought, but delivered to my barn, not a bad price...

And I've told my neighbors that I'll buy in on whatever excess they have from future incoming loads, to let them get their tonnage up to a full semi load without having to buy more than they need, unless they want to.

I told another horsey person at my office about this and a non horsey person overheard and told me I was just being greedy, people like me were the reason others couldn't find hay. I replied that whether I'm greedy or not has no bearing on whether people procrastinate or not.

What's the opinion here? I'll still sleep like a baby, but I thought this would be something fun to toss around.

Oh heavens yes I'd share with someone in need later on and be glad I've had the means to stock pile it.

I guess the real source of my frustration is not only with this person who doesn't know anything about horses, but also all of these people claiming there's no hay, when there IS. You just have to look for it and network a bit.

Answer 1

There's absolutely nothing wrong with "covering your butt". Shoot, even if you do buy up a bit more than you need, at least if we have another late freeze next year, or another drought, you'll have a bit of a surplus to help your already strained pasture along. I've talked to people who tend to be "in the know" on such things, and they've said that they figure next year will be rough, even if there is sufficient rain, because the pastures have been so stressed and overgrazed this year. It'll take them a bit to bounce back. And, I suppose, there's also this....if you do buy up a bit more than you need, in order to be safe, or even to speculate... these same people who are whining about not being able to find hay have the same opportunities to make connections, search around, and get themselves taken care of. Just for whatever reason, they don't. It's the whole ant and the grasshopper thing. I know of more than a few (and one gal runs a training facility...that's a little disturbing) people who are just SURE that the farmers have all hoarded tons and tons of hay away, and this winter they'll be choking on it and they'll get cheap hay. I'm afraid they're gonna be sadly mistaken. And some of them have bought NO hay....or very little. It's going to be a scary winter.

Answer 2

Buying hay in advance of what promises to be at best, a tough winter to get through, and at worst, an impossible one, is NOT hoarding it- you are just doing the smart thing and trying to be as prepared as possible for what will be a difficult situation for a lot of us once the weather finally gets cold and it snows. This non- horse person may mean well, but she is totally ignorant of the difficulties horse people ( and indeed, any type of farmer) often must face in a harsh winter.

I currently live on a farm in central DE, and we have 12 horses to feed this winter. We have a load of hay coming later in the week- some 600 bales,in fact. It's good hay, a Timothy mix, from the Midwest. We tried to get local hay, but because of the drought ( the whole Delmarva pennisula has had a terrible one this summer and fall) the crops never grew right. In another week or so, we will have a second load come in- this time with 400 more bales, again from the same place. I don't consider what we are doing to be hoarding- we have lots of hungry horses to feed this winter, and doing this now means we will be able to go all the way until next May or so before we need to buy in more hay. It just makes sense to do this now, as opposed to waiting til January or February to try to find hay. If you want to buy excess hay from shipments your neighbors are bringing in, you should, especially if they are unable to store it. Hay has become too precious a commodity to waste right now- there are too many horses and other animals which need it for people to waste it. Alfalfa at $ 4.50 a bale is CHEAP, by most peoples' standards- in some places, like California, good alfalfa costs anywhere from $8 to $10 a bale, and goes up from there. I think you are doing the smart thing, and if there are people who say they can't find hay, then my response is that they must not be looking for it very hard. Non horse people don't understand this, and can't be expected to, so I would just ignore this person in your office. She doesn't know what she's saying or talking about.

Answer 3

you are completly right for saying what you said. if you live anywhere but new England hay is in a huge shortage and many people are scrambeling to keep there horses well fed. You are by know means being greedy. i have a local suplier where we pick the bales out of the field and pay 3.50 but we normally take 200 to 400 bales and since i only own 4 horses and other small animals the hay last us forever. But seeing as i live in a area where hay is not a shortage if someone needed it i would most likely give it to them. But i know some friends who live in Georgia and are having a very bad drought. Normally they cut there own hay but this year they had to make 5! trips up to kentucky just to get loads of hay for there horses. Let's just say there feed bill went way up this year.

Answer 4

I wonder if the person misunderstood what you meant.

It would only be "morally wrong" if you were basically scalping the hay.... buying it up by the truckload while you can find it cheap, with the intention to sell it to less prepared horsepeople in your area at a much higher premium later on.

I doubt a non-horse person has any clue just how much freakin space hay takes up, how expensive a whole truckload is for a backyard horsekeeper, and why what you're doing is not causing a problem for anyone nor are you greedy for it.

Answer 5

i wouldnt feel greedy nor would i call you greedy. an experienced horse person knows when they need hay and when hay is at a minimum/shortage. so if they want to procrastinate until its too late to buy hay, that is there fault. you didnt procrastinate and you jumped the gun and bought enough to last you. no where should someone call you greedy for being prepared and responsible to go and do that just so you can feed your horses. you are not a hay hoarder by making sure you have enough to feed your horses comfortably throughout the winter.

Answer 6

that non horsey person doesnt know what he's talking about. my horses go through so much hay it's crazy. more power to ya if your smart enough to order it by the truck load early enough. i live in florida and we've been experiencing a drought all this year so far and it is such a pain to find alot of hay, acually alot of GOOD hay. as for you being greedy and being the reason no one else can find hay, it aint your fault. i'll bet the others can find hay they probley just dont put as much effort into it.

Answer 7

I say buy all you can. Others have no business condeming your for planning ahead. You are saving money by buying now anyways. I'd do it if I had to buy hay. And I might have to the way my kids are eating...but I have a friends that I get it from so I consider myself lucky. Best wishes...Glad that you are letting that non horsey person get to you...they obviously don't understand. It's better to buy now and take the chance of buying too much than to realize later that you miscalculated and didn't buy enough.

Answer 8

You are not hoarding it since if you have excess you'll sell it. You have to take care of your animals. Your "non-horsey" co-worker obviously has no idea what it's like to have animals to take care of and has never been through a hay shortage. My husband and I just bought a bunch of hay to get our nine horses through the winter, and we are buying some more. My main concern, as seems to be yours, is getting my animals fed through the winter. Some people don't have a clue!

Answer 9

If you need the hay for the winter to feed your horses than by all means stock up. My aunt is having trouble finding good hay since we experienced the same conditions this year and it is hard to come by but you can't blame anyone for wanting their animals to be taken care of. Many of the hay people here wont sell large quanties because they are saving it for themselves which is understandable so you are doing fine. You are just making sure you can feed your animals when winter hits.

Answer 10

Buying and storing hay is an annual ritual. And if you have the money to invest, then go for it. And, if you have extra to sell, then the profits should be yours. I would, however, ask that you be reasonable when it comes to 4H-ers. I have a soft-spot for 4H-ers - many of whom are keeping their projects going on a bare shoe-string.

Other professional stock-men? Well, they're perfectly welcome to buy in on loads of hay just as you are.

And if they don't have the $$ - then they should sell their stock - be it cattle, horses, sheep etc. That's part of farming.

And you can be perfectly well within your fence to tell the eavesdropper - in a very severe manner - that since she as no experience with livestock and the annual ritual of storing up hay, that no one was asking HER opinion, that she's incredibly rude and way out of line, and to mind her own business. Ignorant blah-blah-blah.