Hay!

Did I get your attention? Well the price of hay sure got mine. We bale our own hay, with the help of a neighbor. He drives the tractor, and we (and usually some GREAT friends) stack the hay on the rack, and then we restack it inside the machine shed. This year we got 2 cuttings, and paid $.70 per bale.

We are out of hay for the winter now-- completely out of hay. We have to buy it from others. Apparently there is a hay shortage all over the nation from the drought, and folks here in our state have had calls from out of state wanting their hay. Also, the price of corn has skyrocketed, so those who are raising hay are going to replant with corn to capitalize on the current windfall. (As an aside, we sold our corn before the prices skyrocketed, so while we did well, it was not the windfall that others saw. Oh well... ) So the hay situation will not improve.

I paid $4.50 per bale the other day at the feed store. Our animals eat just under 2 bales a day. That is a HUGE feed bill, especially for just a few animals. We're going to fertlize the heck out of our hay field this spring and see if we can't get another cutting. I sure as heck don't want to be in this situation again next year.