Our hay is almost entirely grass, a blend of irrigated-pasture grasses that tend to be "softer" than average. There is a small amount of alfalfa. In the second cutting of the year, the hay from the north field may have a noticeable amount of clover.
We cut twice a year--first around late June, second in early September. The first cutting produces almost twice as much hay as second. Second cutting tends to be softer because first cutting has the stems and seed-heads. If both cuttings turn out good, second will be a little more expensive than first.
Is it organic? Is it weed-free?
No, it's neither! We do some spraying for weeds--we spot-spray by hand
where there are problem weeds. That way we use as little spray as is
practical, but it's still necessary to use some. Our hay has fewer weeds
than most, but nobody's hay is "weed free". For fertilizer,
we use a standard urea-based dry pellet plus fall grazing with cattle for
manure. There isn't enough manure to be able to use it as the only source
of fertilizer, but we feel it's important to get what manure we can to
help maintain the quality and health of the soil long-term.
What does it cost?
The price of the hay depends on how good it is and how much hay is
available in the area. It will be in the ballpark of $5/bale in a normal
year. (2002 and 2006 were not normal years!)
Second cutting costs more than first, because there is less of the second cutting and because it is preferred by some customers. First cutting has more stems and seed-heads; second cutting is more leaf, which is softer. Volume of second cutting is about half of first.
Note that we sell by the bale, not by the ton. We don't have a scale so we couldn't sell by the ton even if we wanted to. Besides, the weight of the hay isn't a useful measure. See the next question.
How heavy are the bales?
They're typically somewhat over 50 lb. Bales from first cutting tend to be
a little heavier.
Now, let me warn you about heavy bales! Some folks think a bale should weigh at least 65 pounds or they're getting cheated. But realize that the standard small bales are all pretty much the same: They come out of a baler with a standard-size opening, and the bales have to be the same size or the stacker wagon wouldn't be able to pick them up, and they have to be roughly the same "tightness" or you'd see either broken twine or loose bales falling apart.
So what makes one bale weigh 15 pounds more than another? If a bale has a lot of alfalfa, it will be heavier than a bale of just grass hay. And again, first cutting weighs a little more per bale than second. BUT, if they're roughly the same kind of grass, the difference is probably just water! The heavier bale probably wasn't dried well enough in the field before it was baled. That means it won't keep as well, and it's likely to mold inside.
Lately I've seen some folks cut one morning and bale by the next afternoon. That's going to be bad hay, because there is absolutely no way a decent hay crop can dry and cure in under two days. Even a light crop, in hot dry weather, will need three days.
When will you have hay? How long is it available?
I can't tell you when we'll cut, or bale, or have hay in the barn, until it
actually happens. We do absolutely no speculation. We won't sell or
promise anything we don't have. One shower at the wrong time can turn
great hay into so-so hay. Two or three rainstorms at the wrong time can
turn great hay into cattle fodder. But given that...we cut twice a year
(the norm for grass hay in this area). The first cutting will happen
sometime in late June or early July. The second cutting will be around
early September.
Hay is available until we run out. That's just the way it works. Typically we'll have hay from early July through the end of the year, but one year we were sold out by mid-October. We don't hold hay back, though. If we have it we will sell it.
What's the difference between the two cuttings?
First cutting is larger, coarser. Second cutting will have more clover in
the bales from our north field. Amount of alfalfa depends on the amount of
rain and our irrigation...alfalfa tends to do better when it's dry because
it has an enormous tap root that can find moisture when the grass can't.
There isn't a lot of alfalfa in our fields anyway, but if this is a concern
to you, ask us about the particular crop(s) we've got in the barn.
(in August) That hay in your barn looks straw-pale. What's wrong with
it?
When hay is exposed to the sun, it bleaches out. So if we have hay sitting
in the barn for a month or two, and nobody's buying any because everyone
has pasture in mid-summer, the same bales face the morning sun day after
day, and the surface of those bales loses the nice green color. The
bleaching only goes in half an inch or so on the sun-facing side and
doesn't affect the quality of the hay. Come on up and I'll show you.
Can I get a quantity discount?
We set a fair price for our hay when it's in the barn, and we keep that
price. We don't give "quantity discounts" unless you're buying full
stacks and having them transported yourself. A stack is 160 bales, the
amount that a retriever truck can pick up and carry to you. We give a
discount for full stacks because it drastically reduces our work, but you
must make arrangements with us so that we can "face" a full stack for the
retriever. If you want one or more full stacks, we can recommend someone
who has a retriever and does a good job.
If you happen to get here when we've got hay baled in the field but not yet stacked, and you've got a truck you can drive into the field to load, we will give a discount (normally $.25/bale) because it saves us the cost of the stacker. However, that's a very short period (usually an afternoon) and we absolutely will not hold hay in the field for you because of the risk of it getting rained on.
Do you deliver? Will you help me load my truck?
We do not deliver; we're just not in the business.
Currently I can't help you load. I have a neck/back problem which has prevented me from doing that sort of lifting. If I can get myself fixed up, I'll go back to helping as I'm able.
Can I reserve hay from the next cutting?
No.
We don't sell hay that we don't have. Until the hay is baled and stacked,
we don't know how much (if any!) we will get, and we don't know what price
it will be.
Can I pay you now and have you hold it?
No.
We operate "cash and carry". You come to us, buy hay, and take it away.
(You may pay with cash or local check.) Here's why we won't store it: