Last summer was the best ever for the Texas panhandle in terms of rain and temperatures. Everyone who grew hay had bumper crops. One friend said she put up 400 square bales off her little pasture, and that was before the baler broke and left the rest to waste. So wtf can't I find any to buy?
Because the brokers are snatching it all up by the semi loads and transporting it out of state, that's why. And what's worse, they're putting contracts on the rest of the season's expected hay production, so folks like me are just SOL. Unless of course, we can afford to buy 55 tons at a time. I just don't have the storage space available for more than 100 bales at a time.
Some of the older ewes and one of the older rams are looking pretty rough. I've wormed them heavily, which only served to make them look worse. Once they lost their Buddha bellies, they turned into scarecrows. This is a hard time of year for them. The pastures are a mix of sticks, stalks, and dirt as you can see from this pic. The rye is trying to come up but unless we get some rain I doubt it will do anything. For once I'm glad I didn't plant the middle section in wheat, because it wouldn't have come up. I have protien blocks out and am feeding a corn/oat/soybean mix, but I have to find some hay pretty fast.
If it were not for internet radio, I'd pull my hair out. Downside of rural living - if you don't like country music, you're in trouble with regards to radio stations.
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