Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire MT Declares Drought Emergency

Damn Sam!

For the year....that looks pretty good!

That is pretty brutal. Hope you dudes can get enough moisture to matter, soon! These farmers around here have no idea how good they have it, even in a dry spell!

Well, there's some "good news".................


I guess.

Coupla fellas I met up on the Palouse will be happy if they have wheat to sell at that price. REAL happy.

Well gentlemen, we have about 25 acres baled up so far this morning and according to my calculations...

It's running right around 1.25 ton/acre.


But I don't think the rest of it will be that good.

This 160 is probably the heaviest.



Back to the weather, it was 82F at 3:30 this morning.

Cooled down to 72 by 5AM. Nice smoky haze in the air to help tame down the sun.

My best stuff ran 1000 pounds an acre.


You need help Sam???


I could help haul hay. One load for you.....two for me.....


Two for you....four for me...

Its a real soul smasher this year.

Never worked so hard and had nothing to show for it....or incurred more debt.



Its one thing to work hard and break even.....but to watch everyone work so hard and sacrifice so much.....and go backwards? Thats difficult.



Wonder if I could get Biden to invade New Zealand? They probably have WMD's.

Cuzzin, wish we could spare some hay.


Finances aside it is depressing.

Are you guys gonna get irrigation water again?

You must have good BOR rights?

Any crop insurance on hay?

We don't have it on hay.

It's bad here too. I thought it was getting pricey and lean here because it was all being trucked out, but that's not the case. Just picked up my load of small squares today, normally he's got tons. He's short 20-25%, said it was too dry, then too wet too late. He's hoping he'll get enough on his second cutting to fill his orders, Normally I get 8-10 ton from him but only got 3 this year. The guy I get my big rounds from isn't a farmer, just a hay middle man. Can ALWAYS go there to get a round or big square if I need it. He's having trouble sourcing hay too. I still need a couple more ton to make sure I'm good till next year, but at least I got enough right now to see me through if I had to. And I'm just buying for pets. The guys needing hay for their real stock, man it's bad.

FWIW as of this week, I paid $175 per for excellent alfalfa/grass idiot squares. Over $200 ton for small (4x4) grass rounds. Saw on FB a guy advertising $400 per, + $3 a mile delivery for small squares. He was out of Dupuyer. That's not going to make you any friends.

Most of our rights are old, I'm honestly not sure how it all works but we should be okay.


Just got our first cutting alfalfa hauled off last week.

Went to put pumps in and the river was low.

Big excavator showed up yesterday and dug.

When we get done baling we have to run back home and start back on the pump work.

That river bottom is nice but damn it's alot of work!

My friends that pump out of the river get to pump when they can.


The guys on the canal have to watch all the water go by so the rez can watch it go by.

At least when it's dry.

BGG, what is hay per ton for big rounds out there?


I haven't heard any local prices.

All the big ranchers around here have had valley ground at one time or another. For a hay base.


They dont last. They never worked so hard before.

Rounds selling for 225 to 250 a ton here.

Idaho selling hay for 265.

Heard where Goggins will pay 300 delivered.

Not sure, the hay dude I get my rounds from only has the small ones right now, he wasn't sure when he'd be able to get any big ones. I like him, he's a little higher than trying to source it from someone direct, but he tests all his hay for protein/suger/moisture and stands behind it.

220 per ton. That’s what I heard, I don’t really know where though. The guy that told me is from milescity.

Far as I know we can pump whenever we want.


Knock on wood...

This may be the year that we experience another 1910 “Big Burn” in the northern Rockies. The fuel conditions throughout the region have already become universally fire-critical, and the current wildfires are soaking up a lot of the nation’s wildfire firefighting capacity. So, with the inevitable dry lighting storms that will be upon us shortly, we all stand a good chance of breathing smoke until the snow flys.

Yeah....must be BOR rights.


Thats good.