Buying Hay

[greenwillowherefords]

Had two 5X6 bales delivered today to get me started in earnest feeding hay this season. $25 each delivered. Haven't had time to haul any for myself lately, but there is some in the $15-18 range that I intend to get when I get some daylight to do it in. What do you guys think of these prices, and what are you giving? This is prairie hay, but decent quality.

 

[eric]

Not sure what "prairie" hay is, but here in N TX, I pay $30 for for big 5x6 rolls of coastal bermuda, and I pick it up. My neighbor supposedly has a guy who can deliver 18 rolls for us from Ft. Worth for $30 a roll, but it's been to wet to get into our pastures the last 2-3 weeks. Hopefully he'll come through with a couple of loads for us as I can only haul 3 rolls at a time with my trailer. And it's a 2 hr round trip per 3 rolls.

 

[dun]

I'm selling 5x5 fescue clover to a friend of mine for 8 bucks a bale. The same stuff to a jerk for 16. That's about the going rate around here. That's at the farm with them hauling it.

dun

 

[jgn]

Around here you can find large rolls(5x6/6x6) of mixed grass hay for 12-20 dollars a roll. Smaller rolls(4x5/5x5) for 10-12 dollars each. They load you haul.

 

[sidney411]

I feel ripped! We are paying $18 a bale just to have our field baled, not to mention all the fertilizer I've dumped on it. Maybe I should turn the hay field to pasture and start buying my hay.

 

[mbdear]

In my area baling was $16 and the fertilizer cost added 12 to 14 dollars to that figure. The cows sure do enjoy having the former hay field in their rotation.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Same here, Sidney --- have to pay about $18 for somebody to cut, rake and bale. Wish I had some neighbors that would sell it to me as cheaply as Dun sells even to the jerk!

Earlier this fall I paid $25 for large bales of coastal that a hay guy got for working on halves --- he had to drive right by my place on his way to his own ranch (which was another 15 miles away) so he agreed to sell to me for $25 and no delivery charge. Worked out well for both sides.

 

[hillbilly]

I'm selling 5x5 fescue clover to a friend of mine for 8 bucks a bale. The same stuff to a jerk for 16. That's about the going rate around here. That's at the farm with them hauling it.

dun

Hey, wait a minute!
Is that the same hay you offered to me for $18. ;-)


Hillbilly

 

[dun]

I'm selling 5x5 fescue clover to a friend of mine for 8 bucks a bale. The same stuff to a jerk for 16. That's about the going rate around here. That's at the farm with them hauling it.

dun

Hey, wait a minute!
Is that the same hay you offered to me for $18. ;-)


Hillbilly

The stuff I was going to sell you was last years that's half rotten.

dun

 

[Campground Cattle]

I feel ripped! We are paying $18 a bale just to have our field baled, not to mention all the fertilizer I've dumped on it. Maybe I should turn the hay field to pasture and start buying my hay.

Sid you wouldn't feel ripped if you priced the cutter, rakes,and baler plus labor and upkeep. I am surprised you can find someone to bale in your area as cheaply, you can't in my area. I get phone calls everyday in season someone wanting me to bale their hay cause they can't get anyone for a month. I just say No Thanks its just not worth the wear and tear on my equipment. I seen a lot of so called hay fields I would consider pasture because they are so rough.

 

[Craig-TX]

I seen a lot of so called hay fields I would consider pasture because they are so rough.

That's the worst thing about Klein grass. Forget rocks and terrain, just the grass is rougher than a cob to work or drive through in a pickup.

Craig-TX

 

[Brad B]

We have fertilized, barn stored 4x5 Tifton 44 hay, plenty good enough for horse hay, and sell it for $20 a roll. Most folks around here will feed $10-15 a roll, half rotted junk or let their cows starve before buying good hay.

We don't bale for the public, but folks around here charge $10-12 a roll to bale hay. Too cheap for me to put my stuff in someone elses field.

 

[jgn]

The people that commercial bale around here do just that, bale. No cutting or raking, the landowner does that. A lot of the farmers around here never had a round baler and won't spend the money for one or just don't have enough land to justify the expense for it. Most people charge somewhere around 6 dollars a bale this route. On the other side of it if they do cut and rake and bale for someone its usually on halves.

 

[sidney411]

Campground, I hear ya, we have priced the equipment several times and it is totally unreasonable for us to purchase such an investment unless we were going to start custom hay services ourselves. It is tough to get anyone around here to do the hay and they come when they want so it would do us absolutely no good to cut and rake it ourselves, it may sit out there for weeks until they make it our way. We should have cut out field 3 times this year but they only made it around twice. On top of that our 1st cutting got rained on after they cut it and had to be teddered twice, I didn't get the protein tested but I am sure in is low and that should have been my best cutting. They came and cut it on a friday and I called they and ssid it was supposed to rain the whole next week. They said they don't work on the weekend so it go rained on sunday, monday, tuesday ..............

 

[Texan]

They said they don't work on the weekend..............

Sid, if anybody in the hay business ever told me that, I'd tell 'em to KMA! You don't need to do business with somebody that ignorant. That is ridiculous!

 

[Campground Cattle]

Campground, I hear ya, we have priced the equipment several times and it is totally unreasonable for us to purchase such an investment unless we were going to start custom hay services ourselves. It is tough to get anyone around here to do the hay and they come when they want so it would do us absolutely no good to cut and rake it ourselves, it may sit out there for weeks until they make it our way. We should have cut out field 3 times this year but they only made it around twice. On top of that our 1st cutting got rained on after they cut it and had to be teddered twice, I didn't get the protein tested but I am sure in is low and that should have been my best cutting. They came and cut it on a friday and I called they and ssid it was supposed to rain the whole next week. They said they don't work on the weekend so it go rained on sunday, monday, tuesday ..............

Sid the reasons you listed are the reason I own my equipment, I know I am getting feed. I actually think you are better off grazing your own hay fields and buying from another source. It seems to me to be a big loser, loss of pasture cost of fertilize, xtra cattle you could run to buy hay. I have my own equipment and lease hay fields graze mine.

 

[sidney411]

Campground

If you figure how much it cost to lease the field, fertilize, cost of running your own equipment, upkeep, diesel, supplies, etc. How much do you have in a roll of hay? Could you buy hay of equal value for the same money? Do you pay more or less money to lease a hay field opposed to pasture? We are paying $20 an acre to lease pasture land, this comes with the use of water in some pastures that have no tank and the use of pens, barn and equipment (This is of course a family deal) I am told the price would be the same to an outsider except the use of water, barns, and equipment would not be included. I have never had any experience in leasing hay pastures.

Sid

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We're presently paying $50. for Good/Premium round bales of bermuda hay with average of 14% protein.

For small squares: $5.00 a bale for horse quality alfalfa stacked in our barn; $4.75 for horse quality bermuda stacked in barn.

 

[Campground Cattle]

Campground

If you figure how much it cost to lease the field, fertilize, cost of running your own equipment, upkeep, diesel, supplies, etc. How much do you have in a roll of hay? Could you buy hay of equal value for the same money? Do you pay more or less money to lease a hay field opposed to pasture? We are paying $20 an acre to lease pasture land, this comes with the use of water in some pastures that have no tank and the use of pens, barn and equipment (This is of course a family deal) I am told the price would be the same to an outsider except the use of water, barns, and equipment would not be included. I have never had any experience in leasing hay pastures.

Sid

My lease hay fields are one dollar a year from elderly ranchers that want to keep their ag exemption I lease three different fields that come to 45 acres for three bucks. Back scracthing deal as I help the elderly keep up their places. The other cost comes to about 20 bucks a roll not counting equipment. There is a shortage of custom balers in area two of the five died the other has heart problems, and sold out to me. I bought my hay for years it's just not an option in my area any longer, no one wants to custom bale . The cost of fuel makes it cost prohibitive to buy hay and truck it in. If I could buy hay for thirty dollars a roll in my area I wouldn't be baling hay I would park the equipment in the barn.

 

[sidney411]

Sounds like apretty good deal to me!