DosArroyos
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2018
- Messages
- 205
- Reaction score
- 233
Bought 87 bales of wheat hay for Winter.Really clean and very heavy bales,but they were still high in moisture content when they were weighed.I was just buying by the bale as I normally do,but the guy before me weighed every other truck load.The bales he was getting came from the same field as mine and they avg 1900 lbs per bale.I bought mine about 2 weeks later and they felt lighter than that to me when I unloaded the trucks with my backhoe. I paid $150 per bale delivered.
I've got some hay grazer planted and others have done well with grazer that was planted on the 1st of April.I have 280 bales ordered from a gal that makes a livin off of hay each year.Hoping that the grazer only costs me $100 per bale. I carried 193 bales over from last year.I fed 407 bales from late June of 2022 to late March of 2023.We were very hot and dry last Summer and not much rain until March which brought on some rye,winter grass,and spear grass.Spear grss is really good feed until the spears harden.I forgot to mention thast I fed 25 tons of 26% cubes that have a 6.5% fat content.Really good feed for cows,goats,and sheep.The mill makes them in 1/4,1/2,and 3/4 inch.The fat conten is high,because they are made from cotton seed.Not hulls,but the seed.Cows keep a good coat on during winter.They don't dry out as bad as with other feeds.
I spent $51,000 on hay,cubes,and Winter wheat grazing.I'm wondering what others spend to get thru hard times and Winter.I carried 89 cows,4 bulls and 65 calves thru Winter.Would have been really hurting,but those calves brought $1000 a head on the low end and some 585# steers netted $1300.
What I'm getting at is; Does it cost others 65 to 70% of your calf crop to make it thru the Winter?
I also would like to state that my 3 herds are not programmed.I'm having calves all year long.I have about 6 to 10 calves per month.
I'm telling you that if I wasn't getting drought assistance help from the USDA for grazing losses I'd be out of business pretty quickly.Cubes went from $430 a ton for 2021/2022 winter to $564 a ton for 2022/2023 Winter.Thank goodness all my hay was from 2021 surplus that I paid $75 a bale for it.This year it's going to run from 125 to $150 per bale.
I've got some hay grazer planted and others have done well with grazer that was planted on the 1st of April.I have 280 bales ordered from a gal that makes a livin off of hay each year.Hoping that the grazer only costs me $100 per bale. I carried 193 bales over from last year.I fed 407 bales from late June of 2022 to late March of 2023.We were very hot and dry last Summer and not much rain until March which brought on some rye,winter grass,and spear grass.Spear grss is really good feed until the spears harden.I forgot to mention thast I fed 25 tons of 26% cubes that have a 6.5% fat content.Really good feed for cows,goats,and sheep.The mill makes them in 1/4,1/2,and 3/4 inch.The fat conten is high,because they are made from cotton seed.Not hulls,but the seed.Cows keep a good coat on during winter.They don't dry out as bad as with other feeds.
I spent $51,000 on hay,cubes,and Winter wheat grazing.I'm wondering what others spend to get thru hard times and Winter.I carried 89 cows,4 bulls and 65 calves thru Winter.Would have been really hurting,but those calves brought $1000 a head on the low end and some 585# steers netted $1300.
What I'm getting at is; Does it cost others 65 to 70% of your calf crop to make it thru the Winter?
I also would like to state that my 3 herds are not programmed.I'm having calves all year long.I have about 6 to 10 calves per month.
I'm telling you that if I wasn't getting drought assistance help from the USDA for grazing losses I'd be out of business pretty quickly.Cubes went from $430 a ton for 2021/2022 winter to $564 a ton for 2022/2023 Winter.Thank goodness all my hay was from 2021 surplus that I paid $75 a bale for it.This year it's going to run from 125 to $150 per bale.
