No need to call the store Rhayden, it was just curiosity, not essential. I don't know what alfalfa hay is worth here at the moment, but when I priced a bale a few months ago, it was $25 (expensive). I nearly choked! I then looked at lower quality 'grassy' hay because I found out that wethers (sheep and goats) can get kidney stones if they eat too much alfalfa. I'm not sure what it is about the wethers, but apparently they can be a problem. I've also since learned that if I give the sheep some grain, it balances out his diet, so reduces the chances of kidney stones. I think I was told it was the Phosphorus in the grain that counteracts the calcium in the alfalfa (or something like that). Either way, whilever I keep giving him sheep pellets (grain based) he;s OK to keep having the alfalfa. I've got plenty of grass in the yard at the moment, but I don't want him pigging out on that too much because it's too rich. Everytime he pigs out on the grass he gets bloated! If I give him the other feed first, he still eats the grass, but doesn't pig out on it like he normally would.
I don't get hay because it makes too much mess, I get the chopped up stuff in a bag (we call that chaff, pronounced charf). It actually works out a bit cheaper to buy it bagged like that. If memory serves me correctly, it takes about 1 1/2 bales to fill a bag. Last time I checked, hay was $25 a bale, yet it costs $25 for the bagged stuff, so I think it's more economical to buy it bagged. Plus it doesn't get everywhere like hay does.
I'm not sure what a bag of corn costs here, it's been years since I;ve bought it. If it's floods that have made the price increase, you'll probably find the price goes back down next year. We had that problem with bananas after the Cat 5 hurricane hit the Queensland coast. Queensland is the biggest banana growing area in Australia and I think it was 90% of the plantations were completely destroyed. Bananas that may've cost $1.99/kg went up to nearly $20/kg. They had to import them, which increased costs as well. Most people didn't buy them during that time, because it was nothing to spend $3 on ONE banana! Banana trees will regrow from stumps, so the next season they were back online and the prices went right down again. It felt great being able to eat them again! Who'd have ever thought that the humble banana would become a luxury item.
Corn is a new plant every year, so the price should come down when they harvest next seasons crops.
Jane