Aside from free, fresh forage, hay is the most costly and necessary nutritional ingredient we put into our goats. So, how much are you paying for yours?

Buying hay by the ton, it is a good idea to weigh a few bales and multiply their average weight by the number of bales that is supposed to equal a ton. If it comes out light, bring that to your feed dealer's attention.

Some people don't have enough goats or enough storage space to warrant buying by the ton. You can figure the price per ton to see if it will pay in the long run to build an addition for hay storage. Here's now to convert the cost of bales into a ton price.

$8.00 ÷ 110# bale = $0.073/pound

$0.073 x 2,000 # = $145.45/ton

Boy, I'm sure glad I didn't use the price I pay per bale for this example!