Drove to Hugo with family to see a cousin in stage 4 cancer . On the way noticed all the dying trees in the wooded areas along the turnpike. Not much hay out there either.
Someone near Meeker is buying up round bale hay from surrounding area and brokering it for $85 - $90 a bale...hay that was going for $35 a bale in the spring.
We are hoping that there will be enough rain to bring out the fall grasses in time for there to be forage on the ground for fall feeding. We have already targeted some mature cows to go to market when the calves are ready to wean, steers we were going to feed out, and some young cows with weak bags/udders. This will reduce the herd by 1/4. Cube feed (20% 3/4 cube) has already risen to $296 a ton up from $216 last winter. Looks like our feed bills will be higher.