Somebody stole our hay!

[Avalon1984]

Beautiful picture but sad story. Beware, they will likely come back for more

 

[annie3001]

sick people. stealing hay. really sick. In Ct. there was a recent loss to a farmers hay. lots of it. Not sure how much tho. I think it happened in the summer time this year, I recall seeing it on the news.

 

[KDailey]

$30 for a round bale???

Here in texas they go for around $100!

 

[theoldchick]

That's pretty much the going rate around here. Now, our coastal bermuda square bales are $6.00 out in the field. That grass has been treated, tested and whatnot and is suitable for bred mares. Most of our round bales, although clean and dry, are mostly mixed grasses suitable for cattle, geldings and unbred mares. We do nothing to the grass except cut it, bale it, and sell it.

 

[hydroswiftrob]

Quote:
X2

 

[7L Farm]

I'd game cam the rolls. I bet your right some local drove his tractor into your yard & stabbed a roll & drove off. You can catch him. Tie him to the back of the tractor & drag his sorry self around the field. I'm sorry but I hate thieves.

 

[Chinchilla2]

Right now here in Texas you can darn near get $30 for a hefty bag full of hay and that's loosely packed. For the most part, the round bales are going for $125 or more right now. Even scrub straw is selling.

Hay stealing has become big business down here. Steal it in one county, sell it in the next and the only thing you're out is the cost of gas and that is made up with the very first sale. I wouldn't surprise me at all to discover that hay theft has increased everywhere to make money off the ranchers down here facing a huge winter feed bill.

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
That's what I heard. The tractor trailer driver hired to haul the hay made sure the rig was locked before it left South Carolina.

And I just remembered the hay stolen today is tainted with black walnut leaves (the state purchases this hay for highway use) which will kill what ever grazes on the dried leaves. I hate that some poor horse will die because of a thieving owner.

put up a notice on craigslist .. "to the person who stole our hay - it's contaminated."
at least you may save an animals life.

if you like, you can offer a "reward" for it's return... of course, i'd have the cops waiting for them when they bring it back... some theiving folks ARE that dumb.

 

[dewey]

Quote:
We used to do this to each other for "fun" as kids except we used horses.

In this article from '09 about hay theft http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125089839482850673.html they finally caught a 59yo gal stealing it. "...they nabbed Anne Dunn, age 59, loading up her bale buggy...Ms. Dunn, a local rancher, had reduced her own herd from 140 head to 35. In an interview, she denied stealing..." "With the right equipment, making off with hay would be no sweat. Ranchers use trailers or hay buggies, often equipped with prongs or hooks, that make lifting a bail as easy as popping the truck into reverse and ramming into the roll."

My family hasn't had theft issues but the bales are bigger and it wouldn't pay anybody to haul them that far to the states that need it.

It's amazing that they'd risk coming right to your front door to steal just a bale. It does sound like someone that knows your routine.

 

[twentynine]

If its a fresh round bale, don't even take a hay fork or a tractor to get it. They roll easy, back the real wheels of the truck down in a divot, ditch, whatever, just something that gets the tailgate close to the ground. Next a couple guys can easily roll a bale right into the truck.

My neighbor makes hay and sells it, see him load bales like that all the time.