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BY KEITH EDWARDS
Staff Writer 05/03/2008

Staff Writer

Andy Baker cuts and sells about 15,000 bales of hay a year.

But as fuel prices for his six diesel tractors continue to skyrocket, he's thinking he could be doing all that cutting for little or nothing this season.

"I'm going to be lucky if I can break even," said Baker, who does most of his cutting in Monmouth and Hallowell. "I'll be working for nothing."

And Baker is only one link in the chain of farm production. He and other hay farmers fear that, if they increase their prices too much, animal owners won't be able to afford to buy hay, and may get rid of their animals because they can't afford to feed them.

Hay is a significant feed crop for cattle, horses, sheep, goats and other critters.

Baker said a square bale of hay has been selling recently for $3.65.

That's up from the $3 he got for a bale a year ago, but by this year's harvest, he figures he'll have to sell a bale of hay for close to $4.

"You can raise the price. But if it gets too high, they just won't buy it," said Baker, whose said his tractors can easily go through 100 gallons of diesel in a day of haying.

"A lot of people are selling their animals. It just costs too much to feed them," he said. "When you're feeding a horse a bale or two a day, if costs keep going up, it could cost $10 a day to feed your horse. And if you've got to think about either heating your house, or feeding your horse, your house is going to come first."

Russ Dodge, who operates Whitewater Farm on U.S. Route 2 in New Sharon, estimates he sells 10,000 to 15,000 square bales of hay a year from his farm store.

He's heard warnings that hay prices will increase by 25- to 50-cents a bale.

"It's a very fuel-intensive operation," Dodge said.

If you're a hay farmer, you need a motorized vehicle to cut, rake, bale and deliver your goods, he said.

"I'm concerned, if it goes up too much, people are saying they could cut back on their livestock numbers."

Increased farming costs aren't just a burden to farmers. They're significant to anyone who, well, eats.

"If you're a consumer and buying a side of beef or pork, you're going to see an increase this year," Dodge said. "The fuel it takes to grow that animal, in terms of feed and all the different aspects of transporting animals, is going to translate into extra cost. It's all fuel-related."

Baker said last year he paid $2.45 a gallon for diesel. Last week, he paid $3.98 a gallon.

"Everybody is concerned about the price of fuel," said Kathy Hopkins, University of Maine extension educator for Somerset County.

Though Hopkins said the issue of people giving up livestock farming is more complex than high fuel costs, those costs can play a major role when farmers look at their expenses and determine if raising livestock is worth the effort.

"There are farms that are pressed harder than ever and rapidly rising fuel costs make those decisions more difficult to make," she said. "You have to balance the bottom line."

Baker, who cuts hay on his own land and leased land, said the economics are such that he doesn't plan to cut hay in the fields that have a lower per-acre yield.

He fears hay fields could be lost if they are not cut. If a field isn't hayed for more than a year or two, it can become overgrown and can need to be plowed under and reseeded.

And that increases the cost of haying the field even more.

"If I maintain your field, and I can't afford to do it anymore, those fields could be lost acreage, from agriculture to just idle land," Baker said.

"It depends on how many people quit, but there could be a hay shortage. People aren't going to bale hay for the fun of it."

Keith Edwards -- 621- 5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

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