Some neigh-sayers may be forced to bail on hay market

When it comes to fuel for our transportation needs, gasoline isn't the only commodity delivering sticker shock in the suburbs.

Hay prices topped $200 a ton and sometimes much higher than that in Illinois, meaning it's going to cost more to feed the 10,000 or so horses that make their homes in the collar counties.

For starters, the hike in fuel costs makes it more expensive to bring hay to suburban stables. Those fuel prices, in turn, have raised the demand for biofuel made from corn and soybeans, enticing farmers to grow those crops instead of hay.

On top of that, an "Easter Freeze" damaged hay crops and "diminished the first cutting yields by at least half of normal," says Ron Taumbaugh, a Streator farmer who is president of the National Hay Association. A drought cut nationwide hay production, while a rainy August also hurt local hay farms.

"I'm diligently trying to cover all my customers, and I'm not sure it's going to happen," says hay farmer Steve Berning of Warrenville. His Galusha Farm provides hay for local stables as well as out-of-state customers. The typical small bales preferred by most suburban horse owners are hard to find.

"We're sold out on those, and all we have left is a few round bales, and a few very large (800-pound) bales left," Berning says.

A 50-pound bale that sold for two or three bucks a few years ago now fetches $5, $6 or more.

"We went to Oklahoma (for a horse show), and we paid $15 a bale. I almost died," says Carol Timmermann, longtime owner of Timmermann's Ranch and Saddle Shop in Island Lake. "And it wasn't even that great of hay."

Shortages, higher costs and greater demand have led to nationwide shenanigans -- from "hay rustling" to fraud.

"I'm still waiting for $46,371," says Taumbaugh, who sold hay through brokers that ended up in Texas. "Somehow that money didn't come back to Illinois."

While Berning hasn't seen any hay-rustlers in DuPage County as he did a decade ago, some visitors to Berning's Web site e-mail propose to buy hay now and pay later.

"They offer to send cashier check in the mail," says Berning, who tells strangers he doesn't offer credit. "I've had a half a dozen of them so far, and I never hear back from them."

Not many hay farmers take checks either.

"Cash is definitely the commodity of choice when it comes to hay," says Ellen Phillips, crop systems educator with the University of Illinois extension service. She says she gets calls every week asking where to buy hay or complaining about prices.

Most stables, including Timmermann's, build a relationship with a local farmer who supplies hay. Phillips and Taumbaugh urge stables to buy huge bales for lower prices and store them. For more information about horses and hay, Phillips suggests searching the Web site at www.extension.uiuc.edu.

"We're still six months away from making any new hay," Taumbaugh warns. "It will be a long, tense winter."

High hay prices might not matter.

"There won't be any (hay), so there won't be any prices," Berning says.

The high price of bales may force some people to bail out of the horse business.

This year's increase in monthly boarding rates from $525 to $550 didn't cost Timmermann's Ranch any customers. While Timmermann says her stables already have purchased the 100 bales of hay needed every day of the winter, she understands why costs are up, and what it could mean to some horse enthusiasts.

"I hate to say this because I'm in the business," Timmermann says, "but horses are a luxury."