Continue making hay?

[tex452]

I've always made as much hay as I could off of my properties and bought more if needed.
With the price going up on everything it might be better to buy.
I usually put out fertilizer and get it custom baled and never really put a pencil to it because that's the way I always done it.
I make good clean hay, well fertilized and need all I produce.
I put some on the market last year for $60 a roll ( 4x5's) that average 1,100 lbs. just to test the market and didn't have one call.
Since I don't have hay making equipment and have to hire it out the price for a roll might not be worth it if I can buy it cheaper.

 

[callmefence]

Prices will increase across the board.
Already starting. We sold two thirds of our cows December- January do to my surgery.
I put ~200 bales 4x5 Sudan I didn't need on the market a couple weeks ago for 70.00 and it's all gone. Unfertilized mixed grass is gone at 55.00 . I was selling horse coastal at 85.00 I'm going to hold my last 50 or so bales. We generally get 30 per roll for custom baling. Gonna have to go to 35.00 this year.
If you can find some hay from one of those professionals that doesn't count their time. ,(sarcasm) almost surely better to buy it if you can graze what you've been haying. Although be sure there will be plenty of hay around labeled fertilized that had a small fraction of what it would usually get.

 

[chaded]

Right now I am still doing my field on shares because for me it's the best option at the moment but I am figuring any given year now that I might get a call that he doesn't want to do it anymore.

If i could know that I could buy my hay cheaper than i can make it and hay a reliable source AND be able to graze what I hay then I would do it. Problem is, hay will go up as well and may be scarce.

My hurdle is my hayfield is good bottom land (for here anyways) but something you wouldn't want to graze a good portion of the year because it's wet and floods sometimes. Oh, and I would have to fence and develop watering.

But the other option if i can't do it on shares is to buy hay equipment and do it myself. So, do i want kicked in the balls or punched in the balls?

 

[1982vett]

Prices will increase across the board.
Already starting. We sold two thirds of our cows December- January do to my surgery.
I put ~200 bales 4x5 Sudan I didn't need on the market a couple weeks ago for 70.00 and it's all gone. Unfertilized mixed grass is gone at 55.00 . I was selling horse coastal at 85.00 I'm going to hold my last 50 or so bales. We generally get 30 per roll for custom baling. Gonna have to go to 35.00 this year.
If you can find some hay from one of those professionals that doesn't count their time. ,(sarcasm) almost surely better to buy it if you can graze what you've been haying. Although be sure there will be plenty of hay around labeled fertilized that had a small fraction of what it would usually get.

Yeah....my cows have been fertilizing mine since last summer.