Bought all my hay this year

[skyhightree1]

Yes. Twine. I prefer twine. By the time this hay is fed, twine will be 59 % gone.

I used to feel the same way until I realized how much better the bales shed water when net wrapped.

I can have the net removed and rolled in to a ball quicker than removing twine. The net ball goes into a burn barrel and is burned when the barrel is about 3/4 full. Twine is a disposable problem also.

You don't get much snow there do you ?

 

[skyhightree1]

Good job Ron... Are you storing outside or in a barn?

 

[Bright Raven]

Good job Ron... Are you storing outside or in a barn?

Outside

 

[Bright Raven]

4x5 rolls of Timothy, orchard grass and fescue. Decent hay. I have not tested it. 30 dollars a roll, delivered. Plus, I have the benefit of more pasture.

I was paying 20 dollars per bale to have my hay rolled and 10 dollars a roll in fertilizer. So cost is about even.

I had just at $30 per bale into my first cutting, after fuel, fertilizer, and all the additional expenses. $30 delivered sounds like a bargain? How heavy and any nutritional analysis?

They seem light. Just judging when I handle them. No analysis but it looks pretty good. Lot of nice fine blades. I am going to test so I know what I am working with.

 

[skyhightree1]

Thats where mine tend to stay.. the cows never complain either.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

There is a major difference in "keep" quality between net wrap & twine. Also, if you ever have to pull the twine off when it is covered in snow or just plain ole frozen, you would be cursing it.
BTW - if I ever stacked my dry bales so that they touched on their sides like you did, they would be rotten through & through. I line them up tight end to end, but leave at least 1 foot of space between them. Water is going to run down the round of the bale - 1/2 will run on the ground, the other 1/2 will run down between the two bales and soak into the bale - rotting it.
I realize our moisture is totally different than what you deal with, but ANY moisture is going right into your bales. Also, with twine, the water goes into the bale at each string line vs net wrap, the water runs off.

 

[Caustic Burno]

4x5 rolls of Timothy, orchard grass and fescue. Decent hay. I have not tested it. 30 dollars a roll, delivered. Plus, I have the benefit of more pasture.

I was paying 20 dollars per bale to have my hay rolled and 10 dollars a roll in fertilizer. So cost is about even.

You better keep that custom bailer happy cause you won’t buy anything fertilized for close to that. Much less get it delivered.

 

[snoopdog]

That is a good price delivered , but Jeanne is right , we could not store hay here stacked with the sides touching and uncovered , we would lose at least 20% to rot.

 

[wbvs58]

Is that wrapped with twine?

I've really grown to appreciate net wrapped hay once I got over the frustration of disposing of the used wrap.

Yes. Twine. I prefer twine. By the time this hay is fed, twine will be 59 % gone.

Looks like a super deal Ron. How did you come up with the figure 59% gone????

Ken

 

[Bright Raven]

Is that wrapped with twine?

I've really grown to appreciate net wrapped hay once I got over the frustration of disposing of the used wrap.

Yes. Twine. I prefer twine. By the time this hay is fed, twine will be 59 % gone.

Looks like a super deal Ron. How did you come up with the figure 59% gone????

Ken

That was just to annoy TT.

 

[sstterry]

Yes. Twine. I prefer twine. By the time this hay is fed, twine will be 59 % gone.

Looks like a super deal Ron. How did you come up with the figure 59% gone????

Ken

That was just to annoy TT.

:banana: :D :D

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Yes. Twine. I prefer twine. By the time this hay is fed, twine will be 59 % gone.

Looks like a super deal Ron. How did you come up with the figure 59% gone????

Ken

That was just to annoy TT.

That's just typical faulty government math. Everybody knows you only lose 23.875% of the twine on first cutting rolls in northern Kentucky.

 

[ez14.]

I used to feel the same way until I realized how much better the bales shed water when net wrapped.

I can have the net removed and rolled in to a ball quicker than removing twine. The net ball goes into a burn barrel and is burned when the barrel is about 3/4 full. Twine is a disposable problem also.

You don't get much snow there do you ?

We get plenty of snow here, but it doesn't seem to cause the problems for us that I see other people talking about.

 

[skyhightree1]

I can have the net removed and rolled in to a ball quicker than removing twine. The net ball goes into a burn barrel and is burned when the barrel is about 3/4 full. Twine is a disposable problem also.

You don't get much snow there do you ?

We get plenty of snow here, but it doesn't seem to cause the problems for us that I see other people talking about.

Here its a PITA to cut it off and if its been freezing rain then snows or temps drop your going to lose a good 4-6 inches off the bale its ridiculous. If im going to lose that off the bale twine is just fine with me its alot easier to deal with.

 

[TexasBred]

I'd take that deal all day long, and sit back not having to hay. Plus you're buying in their fertility.

:nod: :nod:

 

[A.J.]

Sounds like a heck of a deal, especially with the delivery included. I would find out if the individual sells it for close to that price every year, and if it's good hay, get a deal going forward for next year. Have you thought about building a hay barn? It's been a great investment for us, and really nice when you have hay leftover from the previous year.

 

[Bright Raven]

Sounds like a heck of a deal, especially with the delivery included. I would find out if the individual sells it for close to that price every year, and if it's good hay, get a deal going forward for next year. Have you thought about building a hay barn? It's been a great investment for us, and really nice when you have hay leftover from the previous year.

Yes. I told Elwood that I would like to continue buying his hay on a annual basis. His farm is about 8 miles from mine so the hauling is quick.

I have thought of putting up one of those hoop hay shelters.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I'd take that deal all day long, and sit back not having to hay. Plus you're buying in their fertility.

:nod: :nod:

Don’t misinterpret this post. I think Ron got a good deal EVEN IF the hay is a little below average, not saying that it is. I just don’t understand how a “grower” can sell hay for that price. Land rent or taxes, equipment, labor, fertilizer, fuel, transportation.....$30? I think Ron did well in the deal. My conclusion is that either some people can’t figure or they don’t fertilize. Other areas may be different from where I live, I honestly don’t know, but here, if you don’t fertilize, you have 4-8% hay depending on weather and time
of year.

 

[Bright Raven]

I'd take that deal all day long, and sit back not having to hay. Plus you're buying in their fertility.

:nod: :nod:

Don’t misinterpret this post. I think Ron got a good deal EVEN IF the hay is a little below average, not saying that it is. I just don’t understand how a “grower” can sell hay for that price. Land rent or taxes, equipment, labor, fertilizer, fuel, transportation.....$30? I think Ron did well in the deal. My conclusion is that either some people can’t figure or they don’t fertilize. Other areas may be different from where I live, I honestly don’t know, but here, if you don’t fertilize, you have 4-8% hay depending on weather and time
of year.

Elwood Myers is well known. He is also our other county Contract Fencer. He not only fertilizes but he sprays for weeds. Hay this time of the year just does not sell high here. This is certainly not premium hay and I do believe they are light. I also agree - he cannot be making a profit. But , big but, that seems to be typical here. Not many people are good at managing a business.

He sells a lot of very high quality square baled hay to the racehorse farms. My bet is that is where he does ok.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Elwood Myers is well known. He is also our other county Contract Fencer. He not only fertilizes but he sprays for weeds. Hay this time of the year just does not sell high here. This is certainly not premium hay and I do believe they are light. I also agree - he cannot be making a profit. But , big but, that seems to be typical here. Not many people are good at managing a business.

He sells a lot of very high quality square baled hay to the racehorse farms. My bet is that is where he does ok.

I would like to think he has an ulterior motive, such as cleaning up his hayfields in preparation for baling high quality horse hay. So that makes sense. Maybe he’s just trying to break even on the first cutting in exchange for getting his fields clean. Either way I think you done well. There’s not much hay of any kind that I would turn down for $30 delivered. That’s a steal. I’ve said it on here before.... I grow my own, with $30/acre/year rent and a $20/bale baling fee, 67”x4’ rolls, with a 4 bale/acre yield and my avg cost is $50-$55/roll in the field. Still have to haul it. But only about 5 miles. You done good. Makes me envious. Winter feeding is my single biggest expense, as I would imagine is the case with everyone else as well. I should feed around 400 rolls this year. So that could potentially be a savings to be of $10k. That’s $100/cow that could go in my pocket. If I had a reliable, trustworthy source I’d buy it instead of growing it without hesitation.