Saturday, July 5, 2008

Hay in the barn!


Our barn now has Montana hay in it, fresh from the field.

Finding small bales of horse hay is no easy task here. The growing season is short, so there's only one cutting. No one (hardly) irrigates, so there's not much alfalfa. And everyone around here is into the big, round bales, which we can't handle without special equipment.

Oh, how I appreciate that wonderful alfalfa/grass mixed hay we got from Mike Drury down on Rutherford Road in Yakima last year for $100 a ton!! Around here, the equivalent would have to come from south of Missoula, and it would run about $180+ a ton, IF we could even get it.

We were fortunate enough to hook up with someone who buys hay from a guy just four miles down the road. He introduced us to the farmer, and we were able to get three tons last week. It's brome hay (low protein, good for our older horses) in nice little 70-pound bales. We picked it up right out of the field. $85 a ton. We still need to find about 3 more tons but think we have that lined up too. However, if Mike Drury wants to haul a load up here on his way to a hunting or fishing trip, I wouldn't turn it down!

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