[garden cottage]

hearing some very unpleasant noises around here regarding hay costs, due to hot summer and lack of rain, its been so hot during haymaking some bales are only half the weight they should be, also russian wheat harvest knock on costs with all poultry and animal feed. hay could be twice the price from last year........................your thoughts?

[Daisys Mum]

Just got my horse hay in and have paid £3.00 a bale, this is good hay and bales are heavy. We buy from the same guy every year and he delivers for no extra cost even though it is about 12 miles. The sheep hay I buy in large bales and am told that they will be £25 each this year.
I am sure poultry feed etc will increase in price but will just have to put the egg price up from £2 a dozen. I am lucky in that I have just been given another 4 acres for the winter free if charge, well will give them some pork when the pigs go.

[Fleecewife]

Hi GC.  I see you are down in the Forest of Dean.  Here in Scotland we had the early drought when nothing grew, then we had a couple of showers which helped the hay to bulk up a little so we were hopeful of getting a crop.  Since then it hasn't really stopped raining and what hay has been made is unlikely to be top quality.  This means that the whole of Scotland is short of feeding too - which will be worse if the grain harvest gets rained off as well.  This happens every few years up here and we buy from England (which won't happen this year), or at worst from Canada.  I wonder what the weather has been like there.
I think you are correct though that whatever happens feed costs are going to be high.  People will try to sell stock before the winter so prices there will be low. Hard times 

[Hermit]

We have just had our first bash at doing hay ourselves, including learning how to work the machinery etc. Good fun and learnt a lot for next year. Got 120 small bales of really good hay as it turned out so that will help with costs greatly. We do have one rule on our croft though.... IF IT DOESNT EARN ITS KEEP OR FEED US WE DONT KEEP IT. So we expect a return for the feed we give which is all we can ask for.

[Mo]

I was reading last week about the effects of the Russian wheat harvest and the increase of demand for US wheat as a result - and inevitably the impact on animal feed and up the chain to the cost of human food.
It doesn't sound good.
Our Pig Food has gone up already, the second increase in a couple of weeks our suppliers tell us.

[sheila]

What about the price of flour? That's sure to go up with a bang. A bread shortage will suit those of you on a diet  lol

[old ploughman]

well, somebody must have spread the word about hay shortages - I had 4 new customers and 2 existing customers in today who cleared 300 bales of last years hay out of the shed between them.

[jonkil]

Russian Government has announced an export ban on all their wheat this year. Bread and grain products (pasta etc) set to increase in price in Europe by between 10 and 20%.
I managed to save over 1000 bales of good hay this year, so at least my investment there should pay off. I normally sell it off to the horse people, had offers of €4 a bale, it will make €6 over the winter this year. Ireland has had a good hay harvest so far, looks like I may take my second cutting of hay this week.

[jameslindsay]

I was talking to one of my farmer friends earlier and he told me that he has wheat going away today and he sold it for almost 3 times what he got for it last year. Indeed tough times ahead for us I guess.

[Daisy]

Daisy's Mum I woulld really apprciate it if you could give me your hay suppliers number as we are desparate to find some hay, as our grass has just not grown enough to cut.

[Cobra]

Ive just paid £3 for mine its good hay but even here on a normal day thats hoarse prices. I know a women paid £6 last week

Just spoke to a farmer thay bailed their feild they normally get around 120 bales from it they have 41 this year. The problem with cereal crops is that it didint rain in May, thats when the grain forms in the head, antime after that rain wont make any difference the damage is done, so grain prices are high because the grain isnt in the heads; wheat, corn and barley have all teh same problems.

[Fleecewife]

But supposedly Australia and the US have had bumper grain harvests. 

[garden cottage]

apologies to all for lack of replies, weve just recovered from a nasty virus attack on pc, now sorted........................neil ps still have some ryelands for sale if interested

[Hermit]

In Shetland we have paid £6.00 a bale for about a year now! Thank goodness we made our own this year!

[bamford6]

iv onley got half whot i should have .i still ow 2000 pound from last yere havent been able to sell .big round bales 25 pound