OH NO hay crisis!

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Perhaps I was not clear enough. Relative to the vast majority of BYC I live in pretty much exactly the same place as you do, and the point is, they are only just starting to bale the 1st cut here, NOWHERE NEAR starting a second, your panicked first post notwithstanding.

Despite the hay shortages in parts of the U.S., there is PLENTY of hay available in Ontario, although the price is going to be higher than last year I'm sure due to U.S. demand and the rising cost of fuel. June is way too early to be having any sort of hay 'crisis', you have PLENTY of time to make other arrangements

FWIW, actual 80 lb bales are pretty hard to find in this region AFAIK -- small squares of mixed or grass hay (dunno about straight alfalfa, never checked it out) typically run more like 50-65 lbs per. I mention this because it matters when estimating how much hay a person needs. Also be aware that the number of flakes in a bale is not really a standardized number, it just depends how the particular farmer had his equipment adjusted that day, which in turn depends on how the hay was growing in that field that year... there is no such thing as buying "an 8 flake bale" or whatever and flakes can be various different weights. I mention this because it may be useful when communicating with hay vendors.

Best wishes, and I am sure you will find a source of good hay in a form you can handle and store,

Pat

 

[greyfields]

We can never cut hay here before the 4th of July, so unless the field is mowed for sliage in early spring it can be pretty marginal stuff. Unfortunately, our weather has just been eratic and mostly awful. The grass isnt' even doing as well as it ought to do this time of year. I have no idea how much hay I will get, but did mange to get 50 bales of silage done which is about 30 more than I need to feed my cows all winter.

 

[Katy]

This is how we move our round bales from field to an area by the cow lot. This is straw, but we do hay the same way.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

We were surprised how fast the hay grew up at the farm, Greyfields... We were there one day, and it was a foot high, and back 2 weeks later, and it was like 4 feet high! But we have VERY fertile soil there, and it's really well drained up there so you don't get much flooding at all after the winter. The guy who gave us the number for the supplyer has actually already got his first cut, so that's why I'm a BIT worried, but only because I have SO MUCH to do, that I'd like to get the hay order cleared up, and secured so I can think about other things, because obviously the winter without hay would not be very good!

And to PatandChickens, I understand that in comparison to the rest of BYC you're very close, but in reality you're QUITE a distance away. I'm NOT panicking, I'm WORRIED because I have A MILLION AND A HALF OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT, like fencing, renovating the barn, boarders, feed, chickens, puppies, getting the dog kennel up and running so the studs can go out rather than spray the house, RENOVATING THE HOUSE, getting rid of the old barbed wire fencing, clearing the paddocks, ... and MANY other things. I am a PLANNER, I want the order for the hay done and over with, I don't want to be worrying about whether or not I'm going to get the amount of hay I need, when I need it, etc. I AM NEW TO THE AREA, but have already established that first cut has ALREADY been taken, and baled... the person who gave us the farmers phone number, orders hay from him every year, and has ALREADY received his first cut hay, which he clearly will need to cure for a bit. I REALIZE that perhaps an 80lb bale is unlikely, but 40-65 is good anyway, and probably more realistic considering my mother has a bad back and will be the one handling the bales while I'm away for 6 months. I ALSO know that 8 flakes, or 4 flakes is not a solid number, I've been feeding hay for YEARS, and KNOW that you don't always get the same amount of flakes, even in the same order you don't... it's not like it's going to affect much, the number is just a basis anyway, less or more is completely okay, obviously.

So no, I don't think you realize the differences between locations, even if they are merely 4 hours or less apart. Even a 1 hour difference in location makes a big difference. We can't just store the hay somewhere, so I think a slight panic is okay... We don't have the MONEY for an agri-building, we don't have the SPACE for one, and we in our municipality, are not allowed to errect new structures on our property without extensive planning permission, no matter what kind of structure. The town is REALLY strict about it. I'm not meaning to offend, only to let you know that we clearly have some differences going on in our different locations, because even in Bowmanville I have yet to see a farmer take hay up yet.

Anyway, it looks as if the farmer MIGHT use a bale band-it to do his hay, in that case, we're homefree because he collects the small bales out of the baler, and puts them into 21 bale MASSIVE bales, and then steel straps them together, so when we get the hay, we can just yank it off the truck, and undo the massive bale, in order to load the smaller bales within into the hayloft.

Thanks SO MUCH to Katy, for posting the Bale Band-it, because I'm semi-certain now that is what he uses, and it's totally put my mind at rest!

 

[greyfields]

I only have a 45 hp tractor and a single hay wagon. I can haul 11 hay bales pretty easily, but only 8 silage bales... assuming 48" x 48" bales.

I also make 28" x 48" round bales which sell very well. They're very easy to handle for goat/horse people, and they can be picked up by a single person and hay hooks. So, I bale all my straw in 28" rolls, since I've never needed 48" at a time.

 

[Katy]

I'd take the credit, but it's not due me

...I didn't post the link to it!!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
We have a 26HP estate tractor (not a lawn tractor.. but it does have the mower attachment that we can take off easily) with a trailer that can take 1000lbs... but clearly that's not good enough to pick up a MASSIVE bale with haha.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Ahhh look at that, you're right haha... it was BeardedChick, and I was looking at the post where you'd quoted her, shame on me.

 

[GwenFarms]

We move 1000 lb bales here on the back of our truck. I generall pick them up two at the time in the growers field...we have a big Ford...run a strap around the back of the 2nd bale and we can push them off with help. If I'm working alone I just use a rope around a tree like others suggested. It's not a big deal.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
We don't have a truck... We have a station wagon... hopefully getting a ford ranger or something soon, just enough to pull one of the euro horse trailers. We'd never be able to deal with the round bales, period.. lol.