Hay prices around Colorado Springs

One of our Foremen is borrowing my stocktrailer to haul some things to the Colorado springs area, I was going to have him haul some hay back for me if it is at a good price. What is Cow hay, grass hay or grain hay running at out there? Do you have 3 string or small squares out there as well? Most of the hay we get out here is 3 string that run from 105 to 140 pounds per.

Thanks

I live in Wyoming and Colorado's hay tends to be close in price to what ours is depending if they have hay left or not. We get $120 a ton for grass alfalfa mix which is what you see down there also. Most of Colorado is irrigated like us which is why our hay prices are premium. Not like Missouri, when I lived there you could buy 1000lb round bales for $20 to $30 all day long, not out west, I wish our hay prices were that cheap. I have family that still live in Missouri and when I go back in August I am bringing my dual tandem flatbed to haul as much hay back as I can fit on my trailer. You have to be careful though as if it is not certified weed free hay, it is not suppose to be transported across state line, just one of the stupid laws.

vc, I don't know what they have in the Springs but down here (about 150 mi. SE) last years alfalfa is bringing around $150 a ton for small squares if you can find them. Just talked to a guy tonight that said a feed store in Georgia called him trying to buy new crop small squares and he priced them at $7 a bale roughly $210 a ton. We are awfully dry and looks like irrigating water might be short, if it don't rain soon we might only get one good cutting.

Mueller Show Cattle said:

I live in Wyoming and Colorado's hay tends to be close in price to what ours is depending if they have hay left or not. We get $120 a ton for grass alfalfa mix which is what you see down there also. Most of Colorado is irrigated like us which is why our hay prices are premium. Not like Missouri, when I lived there you could buy 1000lb round bales for $20 to $30 all day long, not out west, I wish our hay prices were that cheap. I have family that still live in Missouri and when I go back in August I am bringing my dual tandem flatbed to haul as much hay back as I can fit on my trailer. You have to be careful though as if it is not certified weed free hay, it is not suppose to be transported across state line, just one of the stupid laws.

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Here in Missouri we are lucky! I just sold my left over winter hay for $20/bale, and the bales are about 1100 pounds of Fescue/Clover mix that tested around 12% protein. I was happy to sell it before the next batch comes in since it will be a year old. Now, I just looked at getting small squares (around 60 pounds) to take to shows with us and they are running around $6/bale right now! WOW! If I wait another week for the weather to dry, you can pick up small squares for about $2.50/bale out of the field! That is what we will do when people start cutting again.  

Here in Missouri we are lucky! I just sold my left over winter hay for $20/bale, and the bales are about 1100 pounds of Fescue/Clover mix that tested around 12% protein. I was happy to sell it before the next batch comes in since it will be a year old. Now, I just looked at getting small squares (around 60 pounds) to take to shows with us and they are running around $6/bale right now! WOW! If I wait another week for the weather to dry, you can pick up small squares for about $2.50/bale out of the field! That is what we will do when people start cutting again.  
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Yes my Dad and cousin both bale alot of hay in Missouri and is trying to find hay for me to buy. The problem is the fescue cause it is toxic to cows that don't eat it regularly which we don't have fescue here in Wyoming. So they are trying to find me straight clover or a clover hay mix that is not fescue which can be difficult.  All of the hay they bale has alot of fescue in it.  So keep me in mind if you know anyone that has hay that does not have fescue in it and wanting to sell it, we are coming out in early August. But by then alot of people should have alot of hay as they should already had probably 3 cuttings.

Man Colorado must be missing the rain cause we have been getting hammered with rain this spring, we have not even looked at starting to irrigate. But even when we irrigate hays going rate around here is 120 a ton for the grass/alfalfa mix, I could not even think of paying 150 a ton, wow I thought 120 was bad. Ya, I guess Colorado Springs in the southern part of the state and the hay I checked in Colorado was the northern part of the state around Fort Collins Colorado.

Yes my Dad and cousin both bale alot of hay in Missouri and is trying to find hay for me to buy. The problem is the fescue cause it is toxic to cows that don't eat it regularly which we don't have fescue here in Wyoming. So they are trying to find me straight clover or a clover hay mix that is not fescue which can be difficult.  All of the hay they bale has alot of fescue in it.  So keep me in mind if you know anyone that has hay that does not have fescue in it and wanting to sell it, we are coming out in early August. But by then alot of people should have alot of hay as they should already had probably 3 cuttings.
[/quote]You still have problems with fescue after it is cut and dry? They tell us out here that after it is cut and dry, the toxic effect is basically gone. And the toxic endophytes just cause cows to get hot, blood vessels to restrict. They tend to stand in ponds to keep cool. I only have one cow that runs hot, and she handles it fine. Good luck finding anything out here without fescue in it!

I don't know, that is something I will look into. I was always under the impression that fescue was still toxic even after being dried and bailed. I have heard from a guy that bought some cattle from down south in some state and bringing them back to Missouri where he killed a good amount of his cattle as his cattle were not use to fescue, don't know if that was from the cows grazing on fescue grass or being feed fescue hay. I need to look into it cause if it can be feed as hay that would be great but that is the last thing I need is to feed fescue to my cows which have never eaten fescue and end up killing my club calf cows.