I always loved watching that done, do you do the rolls or the rectangles?

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Growing up, we never had AC in my parents' cars or their house. We spent most of the summers on the boat or camping sans AC and maybe a fan in our rooms when it got real hot. Then I met my wife who, thanks to allergies in her family, grew up in an air conditioned cocoon and driving air conditioned cars. Now I've been pu$$ified and can't sleep without it and can barely drive without it.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

...start with a large one.

First of all, we don't do our own hay, we buy it...more efficient for us to keep grazing pastures rather than take them out of production for hay. And, to answer your question, we purchase both round and square. Rounds for the cows, traditional squares for the horse.

There's nothing romantic about square bales. They're nothing but work and the hotter it is, the heavier they get.

A horse would eat until it fell over dead so we ration hay to the nag and her donkey-pal Hillary. I bought 400 nice squares a few years ago for a song and have been feeding them to the equines since then. A couple of 3-4" flakes off of the bale is a day's ration for them when they're just standing around in the paddock. Working, the horse would need more.

With the drought here in Tejas, cow hay has gone through the roof. A 1200lb round bale is going for over $110 now and that's hay of debatable value. A month ago, I bought some improved coastal bermudagrass hay from a friend for $85/bale and it tested barely more than 6% crude protein. Cow hay should be 11-12% since with cows, anything less than about 6.5% CP and you have to supplement with protein.

With that behind me, and I'm having to supply protein supplement anyway, I decided to buy what's called 'corn stover'...the leaves and stalks left after the combines harvest the corn cobs. In times like we're having, the corn farmers will have contractors come in to cut and bale the stover on shares. I'm getting it for $65/bale (1400# bales) delivered, $52.50/bale if I haul it.

Stover is about 5.5%CP.

We've already started feeding hay with a demand of around 5 bales/wk so I bought 175 bales to get us through to April and then some.

$11k of feed and no end to the drought in sight, Berry Hill Farm pasture raised beef could be a pricy item next year.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

1:40pm and it is 106F. I bet we'll see the north side of 108F today.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Hmm, Learned something new today Thanks!

Hope it cools off for you... Nuts how hot it is

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Hey Aquaticedge, pull my finger.

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For the Saved, this world is the worst it will ever get.
For the unSaved, this world is the best it will ever get.

Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

3:30pm and 118F on the mercury thermometer in the shade of my barn. This is bizarre.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

We got enough wind from irene over here. Dont need anymore. Thanks!

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

X2. We lost the ac in my condo a few times this year and because of growing up w/o it i didn't miss it much.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL