Baling equipment vs. buying

[rc]

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.

 

[Aero]

i think i would be happy with $17/bale. for 29 cows i cant se it being worthwhile. if you had 150-200 would be a different story.

 

[DD RANCH]

i think i would be happy with $17/bale. for 29 cows i cant se it being worthwhile. if you had 150-200 would be a different story.

I have 180 cows if I could buy all my hay for $17.00 a bale I would sell my haying equipment.We have some hay stumpage we pay $10 a bale for and I have to harvest it.

 

[dj]

You talked him into paying the chemical costs? And he will still sell it for $17? I'd try to keep that deal as long as I could.

 

[rc]

No, I am buying the chemicals and doing the work to spray and fertilize. He just agreed to keep selling me the hay for $17 per roll with his people doing the baling. Kinda confusing I guess.

 

[flaboy+]

At $17/bale your winter hay bill will be around $1500. If you buy hay equipment @$15K it will take you 10 years to break even at the very least. This does not include repairs, twine, grease, and bearings and stuff. During that 10 years chances are some of that equipment will either need major repairs or replacement.

Here's the kicker, who knows how long the $17/bale will last? Not long if folks find out about it. Down here, decent hay is $40/roll and up.

I say stay with the deal you have for as long as you can. Just make sure you can get it every year and not have hime come along and say oh I didn't get around to it this year.

 

[dj]

No, I am buying the chemicals and doing the work to spray and fertilize. He just agreed to keep selling me the hay for $17 per roll with his people doing the baling. Kinda confusing I guess.

I'm sorry I missed that phone number what was it again? ;-)
I vote with flaboy+. Ride as long as you can. And if it's working
good ask about another 15 acres :lol:

 

[Aero]

dont forget to stock up while you can. most people like an extra year's worth of supply... some 2 yrs.

 

[alabama]

Why not just keep buying the hay that you are getting from him now. I guess it is coming off his land? His fertilizer? His chemicals?
If your objective is to get better hay for the same price? I would say improve your own land and let him cut it and a price of $15 to $20 a roll is fair. I charge $20 to custom cut and roll in a 5 x 5 roll.
The biggest advantage to cutting and rolling hay yourself is that in those dry years you can still have hay for your cows without paying $80 a roll. But if you have your own hay field and someone else to keep it cut, I would think that was the best way to go if you can get them to cut it when it is ready.

 

[stocky]

I pay 15-18 for good grass/clover hay that has been fertilized 4x6 and 5x6 and buy from 1000-1300 bales each June. There is no way I could consider buying hay equipment and turning pasture ground into hay ground. I think you need to continue to buy his hay at 17, but I question whether you should go to the expense of payiing for fertilize and spraying. That will probably raise your cost another 10 dollars per bale and your 17 dollar hay becomes 27 dollar hay. If you pay 15,000 for the hay equipment, it wont be worth pulling home. For that price, you will only get junk that will be constant headaches and repair costs. You will end up paying someone else to bale your hay because you are broke down. Around here, you can buy hay for the same money that a custom baler will charge you to cut and bale your own grass.

 

[EIEIO]

Even though I bale my own hay I'm going with the crowd here and say just keep buying hay. I bale mine cause I have the time and equipment. I think haying is a PITA but for some reason I still kinda enjoy it even though there is always a problem or two (or three or four) that come up like the weather and breakdowns and the list goes on.

An old timer once told me that if it rusts or depreciates to stay away from it but I did not take his advise. He said he learned a long time ago that by grazing what used to be his hay fields he could carry more cattle and since hay/feed was still a tax write off of 100% he could make more money and spend less time being worried about haying which made his life easier.

I've just always been afraid of years with no hay available so I cut my own. This year hay was scarce, my yield was 1/3 of normal so along with doing my own I still had to buy hay.

J

 

[houstoncutter]

No brainer, buy it

 

[dun]

This year hay was scarce, my yield was 1/3 of normal so along with doing my own I still had to buy hay.

J

Same thing in this area

dun

 

[sidney411]

$15,000 depends on if you are a mechanic or not. Your not going to get new equipment for that price, but you can get some decent used equipment for that price.

 

[rc]

Thanks yall for the great replys. It does seem a nobainer and buying it is best for now. The fellow who owns the land next to me where the hay will be cut is a retired wetlands consultant (whatever that is) and has no intention of doing anything with his land other than keep it cut in the summer months. I think I can keep this deal working with him for some time. He (my nieghbor) has a deal with a local guy who cuts his hay and then he sells his share to me. I think it would be worthwhile to go ahead and spend the money on spray and fertilizer to have a better quality hay. I'm looking at 10 more years on my day job before retirement and time seems to be my worst ememy as far as baling it myself. Thanks again.

 

[alabama]

If you want good hay the land will need lime and fretelizer. If you just take hay and don't put anything back into the land the hay won't be worth cutting.

 

[Bullbuyer]

My dad and I have had this battle for years. I say BUY the hay - especially for the numbers you're talking about - Dad likes to produce his own. He could've invested the money and bought the hay with the interest !! He does mow for a few other folks but the upkeep on the multidisc mower eats up anything he ever charges (which is rare).

 

[norriscathy]

Wish I could buy hay for under $20 per roll. Would never bale again. Assuming you already have the right kind of tractors, you could easily spend $40,000 for haying equipment!

 

[rc]

Through reading these posts I can see buying is the way to go. I might see if the guy I am buying from would be willing to sign a contract for x amount of years. I can already vision the actual hay cutters wanting to get in on the fields I fertilize and spray. It is already fair hay but with some money spent it could really be great. I think it's the way to go for now anyway.

 

[T-Bone]

I had some questions about harvesting some hay at my place. I called the county extension agent to come over and take a look. He told me that they recommend the hay be harvested every 30 day for maximum nutritional value. Otherwise the protein content would be too low. So with the small amount of land ( 15 ac.) that I had to harvest it would not be feasible.