Baling equipment vs. buying

[C HOLLAND]

RC, IMO I would keep buying the hay for that price, even if you put a little money in the spraying to get better quality.

I pay $14/roll (4x5) to have my hay cut and rolled, but plan to turn the cows out on my field and buy it delivered for $26-30/roll I have a tractor but the other equipment cost would not pay for itself in the next 15 years to justify the purchase vs just buying all my hay.

 

[gabby]

I lease out my 75 acres of hay land and buy hay for my cows and horses. It costs me a lot more than $17 per roll to buy hay but I have no intention of ever baling my own hay again. I like it not being my problem when the weather doesn't cooperate, equipment breaks down, etc. It costs me about $20,000 per year to buy hay for well over 100 head, and the lease income offsets some of that. Plus, I don't end up owning hay that was rained on like I would if I baled my own.

Keep on buying it!
gabby

 

[Crowderfarms]

I lease out my 75 acres of hay land and buy hay for my cows and horses. It costs me a lot more than $17 per roll to buy hay but I have no intention of ever baling my own hay again. I like it not being my problem when the weather doesn't cooperate, equipment breaks down, etc. It costs me about $20,000 per year to buy hay for well over 100 head, and the lease income offsets some of that. Plus, I don't end up owning hay that was rained on like I would if I baled my own.

Keep on buying it!
gabby

20,000 a year to buy hay for 100 head? Come on?

 

[backhoeboogie]

Late cut stemmy hay is going for $60 a bale if you buy a semi load. If I could get it for $17 a bale, I'd buy a bunch. We've been haying since early July. Hay is scarce. Seen folks buying 4 year old hay and supplementing their cows with cake.

Normally, we're paying $12 a bale to have our own coastal baled, when it rains. I also spend that much in fertilizer and I hear its going up again. If I get a second and third cutting, the fertilizer equals out nicely. Years like '05 leave you at the poor farm.

We aren't selling any more hay for a while, I can promise you. If there's too many rounds, they can rot.

 

[la4angus]

It costs me about $20,000 per year to buy hay for well over 100 head, and the lease income offsets some of that. Plus, I don't end up owning hay that was rained on like I would if I baled my own.

Keep on buying it!
gabby

That's over $200.00 per hd for hay. per yr. Are you sure your figures are correct?

 

[gendronf]

Last summer my production was 6,300 48" X 52" round bales of hay. I also baled 2,500, 48" X 52" of straw. At $17.00 a bale, I would'nt start a tractor. :idea:

 

[Beef11]

$20,000 feeding well over 100 head = less than $200 dollars per head. Depending on how many over 100 head

 

[skyeagle]

Last summer my production was 6,300 48" X 52" round bales of hay. I also baled 2,500, 48" X 52" of straw. At $17.00 a bale, I would'nt start a tractor. :idea:

Hay Gendronf how much is hay in your area of Canada

 

[dun]

I talked to a friend of mine in southern MO and thought he had it bad. They bought $70,000 worth of hay for 450 head, but they're supplementing with mix-30 too. Cows don;t look too bad considering the conditions.
Somthing else that just dawned on me, they hauled it all themselves so they didn;t have the dollars in hauling going to someone else. I'm curious as to what it cost them to haul it in, but it's none of my business.

dun

 

[frenchie]

If you can buy good hay at 17.00 a roll, buy as much as you can.

 

[gendronf]

Last summer my production was 6,300 48" X 52" round bales of hay. I also baled 2,500, 48" X 52" of straw. At $17.00 a bale, I would'nt start a tractor. :idea:

Hay Gendronf how much is hay in your area of Canada

A bale 4 X 4 sillage is sold for around $32.00 (Canadian money). Straw the same size around $12.00. Straw producer ask $3.00 a bale in the field. You got to process it. If you were living near by I would supply you.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Right now I have 40 moma cows and 10 replacement heifers I bale my own hay.

Here's why: I am in charge of when it's cut. If it gets rained on its my fault, I can't blame the custom baler.

I can cut it when I want to cut it. I try to cut every 4-5 weeks (depending on the amount of rain that I have gotten). With this time frame I can get 12-14% protien on my coastal. A custom baler will show up when he can, not necessarily when I want him to.

For you guys buying hay: If you don't check the protein content, you don't know what you are getting. Green is NOT an indicator of high quality hay.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I have been buying hay from my nieghbor for $17 per round roll. It's mostly mixed grass with a lot of bermuda. I talked to him about taking one 15 acre feild and spraying and fertilizing it and asked would he still sell me the hay for $17. He agreed. The field could be gotten in really good shape with spray and fertilizer where it would be pure bermuda. I have seen it yield 80 to 90 rolls per cutting as it is. I have a feild of my own that would be about the same but is in pasture right now. My question is would I be better off to spray, fertilize and buy his hay or but some equipment and do my own? I currently have 29 cows/hiefers and plan to build on this for retirement in about 10 years. I have them on 75 acres now but will loose about 15 if I use my own hay field. Could I get into cutting hay for around $15,000 for cutter, rake and baler? I have a tractor.

Now if you bought used equipment you can probablly get stared 15 grand. If you have no experience bailing hay, hay equipment can make a preacher cuss like a sailor.
You can buy a lot of hay for 15 to 30,000 dollars worth of equipment. Now there are advantages to owning your own equipment.