Buying Hay

[dun]

whoa im shocked that AC only bales 3000 bales a year.heck i know a guy that puts up 10,000 bales a year plus square bales.an thats on a good year.he puts up almost 3000 for hisself an son in law.

But AC makes a really really tight bale!

 

[bigbluegrass]

This has been a very intersting thread. I did the math a few years back and it just doesn't pay for me to have the haying equipment and set land aside to make hay. I only spend around $1500 a year on hay; haying equipment would run at least $15,000 (that is all used and old). So that would be a 10 year payback just on the equipment, not even looking at fuel, fertilizer, twine, so forth and so on. Probably closer to a 15 year payback if I actually figured the rest in. Just doesn't work out for my size of operation. I am sure for some of you it is the only way to go. I think AC was right on figuring you would need to be using around a couple hundred bales to pay for that equipment.

 

[bigbluegrass]

[quote I can buy a lot of hay for $80 per ton, but my main supplier is talking about more corn...

Same situation here. I can buy all kinds of hay for relatively cheap because we had good growing conditions last year. Most everybody I've talked to are cutting back on hay acres and putting in some kind of crop for grain. Won't be cheap hay for long if that happens.[/quote]

Some rained on hay is going for $50 a ton here this year. Cows might be too profitable on that type of feed, but I am taking a chance by buying it up and leaving mine in the shed.

Plan B is to feed corn stalks.

Plan C is to go hunting around Flasher.[/quote]

SS what are you hunting for around Flasher? Pheasant I am guessing. I like plan C myself, doesn't pay the bills too well, but it sure would be fun. Its been too long for me.

 

[Angus Cowman]

whoa im shocked that AC only bales 3000 bales a year.heck i know a guy that puts up 10,000 bales a year plus square bales.an thats on a good year.he puts up almost 3000 for hisself an son in law.

BB I have never hid the fact that I bale around 3000 a yr some yrs more some yrs a little less
I also do it all with just me and my wife now and then If the wife has other things to do I have a guy that helps me to pay for his hay
when we were running hard at one time we would bale 30,000 or more squares a yr and also 4-5000 big round bales
but we were running a full time haying crew at the time and did everything from cut it to put it in the barn

if I wanted to put up more bales of lesser quality hay I could bale more bales but I won't bale junk and at 3000 bales I can get to my customers hay when it needs done and I ain't spending excess money on fuel running all over to bale junk hay
plus like Dun says I do bale a good tight bale and that makes a big difference on how many bales you bale in a field
I wouldn't bale hay your junk hay for you because you don't "WASTE MONEY ON FERTILIZER" your words not mine
and if it isn't fertilized it is a waste of everybodies time from the guy baling it to the guy that is feeding low quality hay to his cows and trying to fool them into thinking it is good and yes the cows will eat it when you starve them to it
1 bale of hay per day for 70 cows is pretty much starving them to it

 

[bigbull338]

i dont doubt that you put up good tight bales.wnen we did our own hay it would be so tight an heavy you hear the loader squeeking an popping picking up the bales.an that was on a 85hp tractor.