Re: Hay?...before and after

[ChacoL@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-01-31 10:33:26 EST, Hall@cc.denison.edu writes:

> 
>  I've always wondered - *why* are bales of hay so big and heavy
>  in the West?  Around here (I am in Ohio) the average bale is
>  about 50 lbs.  I can't pick one of those up easily.  Do the hay
>  balers out west think everyone is superhuman?  I used to
>  live in AZ and I remember those monster bales!
>  

I don't have a definitive answer, but here are some truisms that may be a
clue:

1)  Hay is transported out West on flatbed trailers; most haulers won't handle
two-wire bales because it is unsafe.  Has to do with securing the load.

2)  Hay balers are not thinking about "us" at all, superhuman or otherwise.
Most hay grown in Calif. and Arizona is alfalfa, which is fed to cattle or
processed into feeds and handled only minimally by humans.

An alfalfa grower I knew in central Arizona did a land-office business selling
two-wire alfalfa to horse owners.  It was cash and carry at the ranch.  He
charged the same price that he was getting for three-wire bales.

I shopped around for some grass hay in northern California last year and could
find only one source that had three-wire bales so we could have it hauled to
the ranch.  The horses are thriving on it and wasting a LOT less than the oat
hay they were fed in previous years.

Linda
San Francisco