Hay is For Horses... $90K Worth of Hay, Dept. of Interior

    In April 2013, I wrote a post for The Weekly Standard about a Department of The Interior $6 million contract for helicopter services related to the Wild Horse and Burro program run by the agency.  Part of that program involves capturing and corralling some of those animals for the Adopt-a-Horse program.  And based on another recently posted contract, those horses are hungry.
    There's an old expression that begins "Hay is for horses," and boy, is it ever.  The contract is for almost $90,000, which is apparently the going rate for 200 tons of alfalfa hay:

    A document accompanying the notice gives some background on the program:

 As resource conditions and other factors warrant, excess wild horses and burro [free roaming on public lands] are removed from the public lands and placed in facilities for preparation to be placed in private maintenance through the Adopt-A-Horse program... The Wild Horse and Burro program Southeastern States Office conducts approximately 12 satellite adoptions throughout the southeastern United States. The SSFO is also responsible for running the BLM Eastern States/Piney Woods Wild Horse and Burro Holding Facility. The facility is responsible for maintaining (feeding, veterinary care, etc.) approximately 150 animals.

    The award was granted only seven days after the initial solicitation appeared, so it's not clear how many bids the government received, and the "interested vendors" list requires a login. And how long does it take 150 wild horses and burros to chew their way through 200 tons of hay?  Since the last contract ($43,775 for 100 tons) was just awarded on July 31, 2013, late summer 2014 may be the last straw.