[Vision2020] Ga$oline Price$

[Art Deco]

April,

I do not know what currently happens, but a lot of horse people in northern 
Idaho used to purchase hay from:

Dial A Bale
Tel:  (250) 422-9348

This farm irrigates and produces a great deal of quality hay.  It is located 
north of Cranbrook between Ta-Ta Creek and Skookumchuck.  Transportation 
cost may make this not feasible anymore.  Further up the valley along 
Columbia Lake there are other hay producers using irrigation.

W.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "April Fingerlos" <aprilf at fingerlos.net>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Ga$oline Price$


>I don't feed straight oats because they need a ration balancer that offsets 
>any price gain, but I know Strategy has gone up $0.50/bag every 3 weeks for 
>the last several months. This is a big topic of discussion in horse circles 
>right now. The price of corn is skyrocketting, hay prices haven't recovered 
>from the last several years of droughts and hurricanes, and a sizeable 
>chunk of the hay crops as of yet unaffected are being swapped out for 
>soybeans or corn. Sticking with grass only won't cut it around here--we're 
>too selenium deficient, and the nutrient quality of local hay is awful for 
>the amount of work a horse replacing a car would be required to do. Good 
>hay will still have to be brought in from the Basin, and that hay is in 
>demand throughout the United States. Many Basin hay brokers exported their 
>portions last year.
>
> Wood for fencing has also exploded in price, and unless you have a private 
> supplier, obtaining shavings or pelletted bedding is going to hit your 
> pocketbook, too--a 50 to 75% increase is hitting the PNW right now. Those 
> of you that burn pellets for heat know how scarce that commodity was this 
> winter, and the difference between heat pellets and animal bedding is 
> slight--hard wood for stoves, soft woods for bedding, with most folks just 
> talking what they can get. Some local barns have stopped taking 
> boarders--they can't find a shavings supplier, let alone pass on enough of 
> their costs to boarders to stay afloat and actually keep boarders. Metal 
> for shoes and wire fencing has gone up due to scarcity of resources as 
> well.
>
> No, Dobbin isn't going to be any cheaper to maintain, but the good news is 
> that he'll be easy to obtain--rampant hobby breeding and the market 
> collapse of the huge production ranch breeder over the last decade in all 
> breeds has left a glut on the market, and now the three remaining 
> slaughter plants in the US are now closed, creating a new low to the 
> market. That new low is being seen under a new banner: "free horse". At 
> the bottom of the market, they can't even be given away now.
>
> I'm showing at the Canadian Appaloosa National Championships later this 
> summer on my gelding in Brandon, and I've budgeted my diesel figure at 
> $3.50/gallon. I've been tempted to readjust to $4.00. It won't prevent me 
> from going if it reaches that high, or even if it hits $4.50. I've chosen 
> to support Canada over the US Nationals due to proximity--I won't be 
> hauling to Oklahoma City (or, next year, Jackson, Mississippi) at even 
> $3.00/gallon.
>
> Sorry for the long post, Tom, but finally, a topic on V2020 I can 
> contribute to with a degree of expected knowledge! :-)
>
> April
>
> April Fingerlos
> Moscow, ID
>
>>>> Tom Hansen<thansen at moscow.com> 5/3/2007 7:18 AM >>>
>
> Those of you who live in our rural surroundings may want to get ol' Mr. Ed
> and Flicka out of the barn.  What's the going rate for hay and/oats per
> bushel?
>
>
> =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>