Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

[RC] hay prices in CA - Jonni

I still get a jolt whenever I see hay prices discussed as "by-the-bale"

prices.  Except for buying the occasional bale from a feed store, where
one expects a bit of a retail markup, I've always bought hay from either the
producer or from a hay broker, by the ton. <<<<

The problem of course for many folks who live in urban areas such as So.
Cal., is that buying from a broker or producer is next to impossible, unless
you buy a whole tractor trailer load. The average horse owner does not have
the space to store often more than a ton. Sometimes only 4-8 bales at a
time. To drive TO the fields, is usually not cost effective, as the closest
for those in Los Angeles, such as the San Fernando valley, is you have to
drive out to the desert communities, or Bakersfield. By the time you add in
fuel, and then the time to go get it, and then unload it yourself, most
would rather pay the local feed store to bring the hay out, and unload it
and stack it for you. I had a storage place that required the delivery guy
to have to drag the bales about 30' from the truck to stack it. No extra
charge. Saved my back!

I have calculated hay prices per bale, breaking them down into the per pound
price, and CA is usually not much higher than TX.  I do miss the selection
of hay types in CA. There were the different grain hays, such as Barley,
Oat, Wheat, and then different grass hays, such as Rye, Orchard, Bermuda.
Then of course, if you wanted to feed alfalfa, you could find it everywhere.
The last was the mixed hay, where they would have alfalfa and a grass hay,
or a mixed grain hay.  Here, we grow some Coastal Bermuda ourselves, which
seems to be the main hay in No. TX.

Here is a web site for searching for hay in different areas. I am always
amazed at the different types of hay, and how the vary regionally.

http://www.hayexchange.com/

Jonni



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=