Weather and army worms did a number on North Texas hay in 2018. This year, customers are paying for it.

PLANO, Texas — There are a million things to do to keep a ranch up and running, and one of the most basic tasks has Rosie Aschenbrenner stressed.
"It seems like that's all I worry about every week," she said.
She owns Healers 4 Heroes in Plano, which offers horseback riding lessons and therapeutic riding for veterans, but feeding those horses in 2019 has become more expensive than she and others expected. Aschenbrenner used to pay around $60 for a single round bale.

"Now, they're anywhere from $85 to $150," she said.
It's a big enough markup that she's started driving to Oklahoma to buy hay for less. "It's only an hour, but it is a better deal," she said.
North Texas is in a hay shortage, and it's affecting ranchers and suppliers alike. At Wells Brothers Pet Lawn and Garden Supply, Dick Broussard says two things are to blame. "The biggest one is drought," he said. "Next is army worms...insects."

Spring of 2018 was too dry for too long, and what was left was under attack. That means what Broussard does have to sell is in very high demand. Up until two weeks ago, customers could come in and buy as many barrels of hay as they wanted. Because of the shortage, the store set a limit of just 10 bales of hay per customer, per day.

"When I get some more, and I will get some more, it'll be five," he said.
That next truck load of hay he's buying will be from Florida. The next harvest of hay around here comes in June. Until then, ranchers will try to answer the question of what it'll cost until then.(link)

It’s getting bad. My cattle guys are struggling. To make it worse, because of the wet fall, a lot of folks didn’t get winter wheat or ryegrass planted, or got it planted late. And the cattle market is down so selling is not a great option either.

I always pay around $100-125 for a round bale in winter. Maybe the local guys are ripping me off.

It was a tough year, we made way less than normal. I tried to sell some year old hay last year at a good low price and nobody bought it. I’m glad they didn’t now, it will get me by. I too only got 30% of my wheat in the ground in the fall.

I fertilized our hay field in August and then prayed for rain. Prayers answered.
But then it wouldn't STOP raining. We couldn't get the field dry enough to cut and bale.

By the time we could, we'd had a freeze so my hay is substandard. Syrup tubs will help get us through.

Years ago we fed cottonseed silage and syrup.

It's always something.

Still, we didn't lose completely like the cotton crops around us.

I am paying $55/bale delivered for bluestem right now. Granted its a college buddy that is pretty much selling at cost, but I've payed a lot more before.

I bought some corn hay from a guy around Corsicana in September when it looked like there would be no rain. He provided me with a hay analysis report. I had fed the corn hay in the past and the cows weren't thrilled with it. This batch of hay the cows love and I cant put it out fast enough. I do supplement with cubes and protein tubs. I think I paid $35/bale which is pretty cheap these days.

“Hay analysis report”- do tell. What’s in that?

You can pull core samples of bale and they can give you nutritional analysis. Offered through extension service.

I got lucky and got Jiggs from a neighbor down the road for $65 a bale back in September after we got wiped out from army worms. Very pleased with his forage quality (forage analysis looked good - they raise race horses so I didn't expect them to have junk anyways) so I've already locked it in for twice as many bales for 2019. Barring a massive summer drought I know how many bales we'll feed give or take a couple...I'm going to over buy so I can have a few to sell if need be. Had lots of people wanting to buy 2 or 3 this year from us, but I'm not selling. We'll eek by and have a few left to feed during the summer if it gets too dry...we've got great grass and I generally don't have to feed anything to the horses from late Feb through late October.

I lock my horse hay in each spring with my grower at a set cost and contract to buy 1800 square bales. Right now he really wishes he could charge me market rate, but a deals a deal, and he'll stand behind it.

Here in Louisiana I am short for my cows too dry during first cutting too wet for the second one. Stretching out what I have as best I can.

I’ve always contracted a bunch of our alfalfa to a dairy. That major drought we had 8 years back, probably cost my $200plus a ton. But two years before people couldn’t give away alfalfa and I was smiling as it shipped the day it was bailed. I’ll take a check over dreams of getting rich any day.

Hay is a yearly concern here. I quit planting my own hay about 7-8 years ago. Drought conditions were bad for so long, I not only lost all the cost of plowing, planting and the seed, I wound up having to scramble to find hay to buy elsewhere. I have a source now that, hopefully, I can depend on in the future and I just budget for enough hay per year to get us through. My swather and baler haven't been moved in years but they haven't cost me any repairs either.

Still have a few head over on the place i sold and it's been a pita finding good hay. Drove down to Moulton a couple weeks ago and bought a load of coastal. (12) 80 Bucks a round bale 5'x 6'. Gentleman up toward Lexington I usually buy from sold all His early.

Between the drought and the army worms, finally rolled up almost 1500 rolls. Took me until December though. I hope I have enough to make the winter. Supplementing with 4 lbs of cubes every other day. Been a rancher all my life and have never seen such weather extremes in one year.

My guy at the farm tries to go into the winter with 500 bails. This year the weather screwed him up so his cattle ate "standing hay" up until three weeks ago when he had to start feeding.
We just bought a new ranch out west where the PO & leaser tells us they feed no hay or minerals. The cattle get everything they need from the soil year around. I find that hard to believe but time will tell. They PO has done extensive work beating back brush and planting improved & native grasses.

Just north of McKinney there is a partially flooded field with about 200 round bales sitting in it. What a stupid waste.

Watched BLM ranchers make it for years, off native and no supplemental feed.

Live and die by your stocking rates. But those guys also have a very conservative biologists not letting the temptation of getting themselves into deep.

My buddy got a semi load of hay from Mississippi the other day for about $85 a bale... truck driver said Mississippi was about out of hay