[Jacob-list] Alfalfa Hay

[Paul and Kate Survis]

Wow: we had a bad hay year with the drought and all, and I thought hay was
expensive here.  I buy by the ton, and was lucky to find 9 tons at $80 per
ton not far from home. We have to load and haul ourselves.  It is a grass
alfalfa mix and pretty nice stuff, no mold or dust and a pretty green. . It
is a little light on the alfalfa end but I planned to buy a few 100 pound
bales of 2nd cutting alfalfa  ($5-$6 per bale) to supplement before, during,
and after lambing.  This is great hay country, and it is beautiful
hay....but I can't imagine what a $25 bale would look like!! We don't have
the equipment to feed round bales, and usually there is some mold in the
center of those that would be  hard on my horses.  With the way my picky
sheep eat I can't imagine they would touch moldy hay.  Does this new machine
do something different to a round bale to help it dry more evenly??
Very interesting to hear what folks do in different areas of the country.
Just whne you think you have it hard, you find out that it is worse
somewhere else. All my animals are grass fed with the exception of my son's
4H market lambs which are regulary grained.  Most of the 4 H kids feed grain
exclusively, with no grass or hay.  A very expensive way to raise lambs!!!
We leave them on their mothers and creep feed them from an early age,
keeping them on pasture, and raise nice big lambs in a hurry that way.  I am
starting to feed a little bit of hay now, as we have had snow and cold
weather, and the grass is not real good any more.  The sheep aren't cleaning
up all the hay, so I guess they aren't that hungry yet. Either that or they
want some of that expensive Alfalfa!!
Kate Barrett
Ruby Peak Jacobs
Lostine, OR
-----Original Message-----
From: Abigail Brown <blotham at yahoo.com>
To: List Jacob <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Date: Monday, November 26, 2001 7:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Alfalfa Hay


>Ouch!!!
>
>If I had to pay that much for hay(We pay 8-12 dollars
>a bale for alfalfa, alfalfa that was over $25) I
>wouldn't have sheep.
>
>I get a grass/alfalfa mix for $2 a bale. I climb into
>his loft and haul it myself. Straw is $1.50 a bale.
>
>Abigail Brown
>Shiloh Farms
>Petersburg, IN
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>--- Cathy Robinson <perfectspot at blueridge.net> wrote:
>> When we lived in SC, when I had just a few sheep, I
>> used to drive to a
>> place that sold several varieties of "imported" (to
>> SC) hays...coming
>> from New York, Nevada, Canada, etc, along with the
>> local variety.  One
>> time,  I remember thinking LONG and HARD on a huge,
>> BEAUTIFUL
>> bale of alfalfa that was over $25!  I did  splurge,
>> and it lasted weeks
>> and weeks when added to the
>> grass hay we normally fed...the sheep loved it and
>> the bunnies got a
>> treat now and then too!  My
>> husband grew up on a farm years (and years!)
>> ago....he was not amused!
>>
>> Cathy
>> Perfect Spot Farm
>>
>>
>> Kathryn Shirley wrote:
>>
>> > We pay 8-12 dollars a bale for alfalfa.
>> Ocasionally, I will see
>> > alfalfa for 5-6 dollars a bale, but it is not as
>> high a quality and
>> > the bales are very light (50 pounds).  It is
>> cheaper to either
>> > supplement with soy bean meal or use
>> protein/energy blocks.
>> >
>> > Kate Shirley
>> > Humbug Farm
>> >
>>
>>
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