Now we know the TRUTH!

Posted by Indydirtfarmer on October 08, 2004 at 03:57:11 from (66.83.236.250):

In Reply to: Ready For This One? :) posted by Allan in NE on October 07, 2004 at 17:57:54:

Allan, you really ARE theREALron aren't you? Got your pointy stick REAL sharp before you posted this one didn't you?

When you get right down to it, no farm commodity (sp) is easily grown, handled, or stored. Look at all the work involved in raising corn...

Hay is a "staple" of farm income. Back in the day, MOST of the hay produced was used as "fuel" for a farmers "equipment". 3/4ths of the hay produced was used as feed for the horses that were his "tractor". With the advent of modern farm equipment, that NEED diminished somewhat. More "cash crops" were planted. Hay remained essential as a cattle feed, but when horses weren't so common as work animals, there was no longer so much demand for hay too feed them.

Enter the modern "Yuppie"

Today there are THOUSANDS of horse owners that just ride for pleasure. They buy MOST of their hay from farmers that need the extra income. (Like ME!) They want SMALL square bales. (I'm getting hundreds of request's for what is known as "craft-sized" bales--about half the size of a normal small square) When the market speaks, good business people respond with an "I'll sell you that"!

In addition, there are still plenty of people that buy 1 or 2 cows a year to "raise their own meat". They buy plenty of hay too.

Finally, there are lots of smaller operations that 1.)don't have the money for investing in a GOOD round baler, 2.) Don't have a big enough tractor to handle a round baler, 3.) Just don't want to change from "what they know".

Also consider that even BIG cattle operations benifit from the convenience of small squares.

On the "barn thing"...MOST of these big spacious barns were built with the sole purpose of storing hay. They wouldn't even be there if it wasn't for hay storage....

It has already been well documented the need for protecting hay from the elements...(Rain, sun, ect) With the high cost of producing hay these days, you can afford to loose even a small percentage of it to the weather. Even a large percentage of round baled hay is stored "indoors".

This year has been a bad one, as far as my hay "profitability". Wet weather all spring and summer made a HUGE dent in the ammount we have to sell. In a NORMAL year, such as 2003, hay sales ammounts to around $18,000 net profit for me. While not a "stand-alone living", it is a goodly portion of my YEARLY profit. For that, I'll toss a few bales....

Now ALLAN...GO PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE....Us dumb ol' hay-balin' hicks gotta make a buck somehow, so we can live in this yuppie world....John

Follow Ups:

• Re: Now we know the TRUTH! Allan in NE 04:12:04 10/08/04 (2)
  • Re: Now we know the TRUTH! Ludwig 10:55:07 10/08/04 (0)
  • Re: Now we know the TRUTH! Indydirtfarmer 04:56:10 10/08/04 (0)

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