[gooselover]

My supplier has just informed us about the serious possibility of a hay shortage AGAIN in Oklahoma. I talked to two other barn owners - one in particular does their own hay - and they confirmed this.

Anyone else hear of this in either Oklahoma or elsewhere? More bad news in a bad economy.

[Zu Zu]

Hay crop looks excellent in (Kansas / Missouri) area. Probably the best quality and quantity since '03 !

[Tamara in TN]

My supplier has just informed us about the serious possibility of a hay shortage AGAIN in Oklahoma. I talked to two other barn owners - one in particular does their own hay - and they confirmed this.

.

super fancy "done right" hay of more than 120 RFV, yep could be short...
recreational chewing hay that may or may not be edible should flood the market...

[Cashela]

Heck try living in New England where it practically rained for the whole month of June...

[HJPony]

Yes, cashela certainly is right.

New England has had so much precipitation in the past month making a possible hay shortage. Right now the shortage isn't the issue, but the quality of hay is very dry due to age. The farm I am a part of is known for having the best hay fields around and we normally receive only the "good stuff." Quite frankly, I thought the quality would be worse but it wasn't half bad considering.

The real issue is that the FIRST CUT is being cut and delivered as we speak, far later than normal. We usually receive our first cut in the middle of June, not NOW. Some are speculating whether we will even get a second cut in this year. Not good...

[Calvincrowe]

On the positive side (for PNW hay growers anyway) so far the hay crop here looks amazing! Westside hay got cut before Memorial day, which is almost unheard of--should be green and fine stemmed for "local hay lovers". The Central/Eastern crops--which is mostly exported out of state, is looking good and CHEAPER than the $300+/ton it was running last year. My hay guy is bringing it across the mountains and selling it for $210/ton right now. These are those 120lb. bales of gorgeous, green orchard grass/alfalfa that I love so much...sigh...can't wait to fill the barn.

So--our guys should be able to ship high quality hay across country, if needed. Sorry about the crappy weather in NE--I always wonder how you guys get hay made with the rain and humidity!

[HuntJumpSC]

I've been trying to get timothy or a timothy mix now for close to a month. I'm in coastal bermuda country and do not want to feed it to my new filly. She's currently on summer pasture only right now, and fat as a hog. The guy I've been in contact with up in NC has had the same problem with too much rain in the NE. He gets his from a family farm in Vermont and they have been unable to do first cutting.
Thankfully, I made another contact yesterday with another hay guy up above Charlotte, who is getting another load of 70/30 timothy orchard before the weekend. It's going to be a long trip, but I can get it for half of what I'd pay locally. With August closing in, I'm getting paranoid about not having hay put up yet~ especially since there are so many that haven't even gotten first cuttings yet. I hate having to drive that far, but I can't count on anyone local to have what I want when I want it.

[Blue Yonder]

Meanwhile down in South Texas, where we are in the midst of what may be the worst extended drought in recorded times (exceeding the drought of the 50's), my pastures absolutely crackle as you walk across them. There is virtually no hay anywhere. Thanks to the hay forum here on COTH, I've spent my morning working through listings on hayexchange.com. This will be the first time in 10 years I'll have to truck in hay from elsewhere. Blech.

[TB Fan]

Agreed for those in New England. I think hay will be in short supply after the rains we've had! June was basically a wash out.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

Yep, the hay we have here in New England won't be all that great I imagine. Some farmers are still finishing up baling.

We got some in at my barn and it's not the best, but it'll have to do.

Hopefully I will be able to by some second cutting later in the summer for my guy's extra hay reserve for snacks or I'll just stop up on more alf/timothy cubes and/or pellets.

[foggybok]

On the positive side (for PNW hay growers anyway) so far the hay crop here looks amazing! Westside hay got cut before Memorial day, which is almost unheard of--should be green and fine stemmed for "local hay lovers". The Central/Eastern crops--which is mostly exported out of state, is looking good and CHEAPER than the $300+/ton it was running last year. My hay guy is bringing it across the mountains and selling it for $210/ton right now. These are those 120lb. bales of gorgeous, green orchard grass/alfalfa that I love so much...sigh...can't wait to fill the barn.

So--our guys should be able to ship high quality hay across country, if needed. Sorry about the crappy weather in NE--I always wonder how you guys get hay made with the rain and humidity!

yeah, I just bought 20 tons of 2nd cutting hay that looks fabulous, last year we didn't get 2nd cutting until really late and most of it was too mature. I haven't seen the price on the EW come down for us yet (but I'm hoping it will!), but the local stuff is cheap and plentiful and much better than last year. I also heard less is going for export this year...

[foggybok]

super fancy "done right" hay of more than 120 RFV, yep could be short...
recreational chewing hay that may or may not be edible should flood the market...

"recreational chewing hay" I love the description! My friend thought she scored on some hay last year and brought it over for me..."recreational chewing hay" would have been a good description....