Cost of Hay

[Rancher]

I'm just barely skinny by this year as my helper age 72 has a heart issue and quit. So I hired a youngster 38 yrs that has a net wrap and a wrapper. He is using my 2yr old angus on 30 head of angus so I feel safe money wise. I mowed and he baled and I used my skid steer to place on wrapper. here is pic of 24 acres on my north field, got to cloudy to get pic of 20 acre south field but yield was great

 

[mickroos65]

I finally sat down with my hay guy and paid for our 2nd cutting. We had 80 acres mowed, tedded (sp?), raked, baled and moved. They baled 2 wagons of dry square (285 bales) and made 226 round dry bales.
Ended up costing $3.79/sq bale and $20.78/round bale - 50-52"
Sure came out good prices, especially compared to having to buy hay last 2 years - and the hay is excellent. Got a window with no rain. Didn't think we were ever going to get dry hay this year.

That's a good price for the round bales. I paid 33.00 for mowing,raking and baling and I moved them.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I don't think you was making any profit even at $ 35 a bale were you ? I don't think $ 50 a bale would be profitable.

Correct @35 a bale there was "negative profit" ha. Did the field as a favor to a friends of my wife's.

If I was going to get back into the custom baling game seriously, I would charge by the acre/hour for the mowing and raking, and it would start at $100 an hour. Baling would be by the bale and probably somewhere in the $18 dollar range.

 

[Louthelivestockguy]

We do some custom hay for guys. This was our first year. what we came up with that we thought would be a fair price and still make money for us was $65 an hour for mowing tedding and raking and $7.5 a bale for a 4x5. I did some figuring and if the hay was thick it cost them about $20-$25 a bale if it was thin up to $40 a bale since it takes as long hourly to make thin hay as thick hay.

I'm not too far from you in Indiana. Your prices are about the same as mine. With cut, raking, & tedding being on a per acre cost. Baling is per bale.
Rounds are $22-$30 for first cut
Second cut usually $30-$35
Squares are $2.50-$3 for first cut
Second, third, or fourth add about a $1 progressively for each additional cut.
That's only alfalfa hay that I square bale though.
My neighbors live on both sides of my farm so not far to go, but they treat me real fair. There happy I'm not splitting my place up
Into house lots like everyone else around us!!

 

[Louthelivestockguy]

I'm not too far from you in Indiana. Your prices are about the same as mine. With cut, raking, & tedding being on a per acre cost. Baling is per bale.
Rounds are $22-$30 for first cut
Second cut usually $30-$35
Squares are $2.50-$3 for first cut
Second, third, or fourth add about a $1 progressively for each additional cut.
That's only alfalfa hay that I square bale though.
My neighbors live on both sides of my farm so not far to go, but they treat me real fair. There happy I'm not splitting my place up
Into house lots like everyone else around us!!

By the way, I usually fertilize because we are robbing nutrients and it helps keep cost per bale down? I tell myself that, but it sure is $$$$ to do it anymore.
I'll say add $7.5 per round and another $1.5 per square just for fertilizer costs.
Of course that's a rough estimate and rain is always a big factor that no one can figure out exactly!

 

[Mark Reynolds]

MCR - absolutely. I was just referring to the "hiring" costs. We don't own any hay equipment except the spears on my tractor. We fertilize 80 acres - 30 owned and 50 leased. No herbicides - other than running around with 4 wheeler with a sprayer once in a while. Mostly that is just used on fencelines and pastures. Hay fields stay pretty clean - except for Queen Anne's Lace. Getting bad. Doesn't bother baleage just the dry hay.

It sounded like the hay was coming from your ground on your initial post and cost was for harvesting labor only. Get a hay analysis done and see what the fertilizer value of the hay is by having extension do the calculations for you. Add that to the custom bale expense and the labor expense of putting the fertilizer back on the field and you likely have some expensive hay, but that is the true, yet hidden, cost of hay.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

MR - absolutely. Fertilizer is costly. But, putting up our own hay at ANY cost, is cheaper than buying hay. I feed 6 months of the year - that's a LOT of hay to buy.
I do soil samples and hay samples every couple years.
My husband used to be the plant manager for the fertilizer plant. He trained Dan, who took his position when he passed. Dan does a great job taking care of me. I don't question what he advises.

 

[TexasRancher]

50 dollars a roll minimum with today's fuel and fertilizer prices. We haven't even got into maintenance oil and filter have gone super high.

CB...what about corn stalk hay?...are you saying even corn stalk hay should be priced at $50. a 4x5/6 roll? I'll pay $40. a bale max, but I refuse to pay $50. for corn stalk. I'll grain my cattle over winter along w/ untouch grazing pastures over winter....before i pay $50. for corn stalk. From what I'm seeing and hearing....farmers and hay producers might start letting corn stalk waste stand where it is and plow it back into the soil. I can't make $50 corn stalk hay viable for my cattle plan.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I only know ONE beef producer that bales corn stalks - for "edible" bedding.

 

[Caustic Burno]

CB...what about corn stalk hay?...are you saying even corn stalk hay should be priced at $50. a 4x5/6 roll? I'll pay $40. a bale max, but I refuse to pay $50. for corn stalk. I'll grain my cattle over winter along w/ untouch grazing pastures over winter....before i pay $50. for corn stalk. From what I'm seeing and hearing....farmers and hay producers might start letting corn stalk waste stand where it is and plow it back into the soil. I can't make $50 corn stalk hay viable for my cattle plan.

It's not about what is viable for you. It's about covering production cost for the baler.
Four dollar a gallon diesel plus wrap and maintenance inputs add up quickly.
You can't change the oil for under a 100 bucks at 26 bucks a gallon.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Yep cost of production is sky high.

In an earlier post I said 50k for a new baler... I was wrong. Haha

In 2013 I bought my current baler for just over 30k brand new. For the exact same optioned baler currently is price is 71k.

Sitting down with the pencil I'd tend to agree that cost of production is approaching $50. Guys paying $20-$30 to get your hay bales are getting a steal. Don't argue with those prices and write the check before somebody changes their mind.

 

[StrojanHerefords]

I used the AgPhd soil removal app and found that each ton of hay at that time removed $70 of fertilizer from the soil and based on the discussion here the true cost of baling is at least $80 a ton. Last spring hay here was $100 a ton, so the act of baling and removing the hay was robbing from the future.
A few years ago, I got to attend a Neal Kinsey Agronomy course and got to visit with some of the top farmers in the nation. They regarded taking the straw off of a field as something that you would only do when your lease was done. On hay fields, there is a gradual depletion of the soil until the ground gives out.
The beautiful thing about grazing animals is that they return the nutrients to the soil. Direct grazing has a lot of advantages. I have friends east of Edmonton who graze standing corn through the winter. If they can do it in those conditions, it can be done in a lot of other places.

 

[TexasRancher]

It's not about what is viable for you. It's about covering production cost for the baler.
Four dollar a gallon diesel plus wrap and maintenance inputs add up quickly.
You can't change the oil for under a 100 bucks at 26 bucks a gallon.

Well when it becomes not viable for most of us seeking corn stalk hay...then the farmers, hay producers can plow back in the corn stalks. I say $40. or plow them stalks back in. Years ago they never even baled corn stalk...nobody wanted them....we should go back to not baling corn stalks. Use older equipment to bale, change oil less, burn used motor oil or vegetable oil in lieu of diesel. Hay producers need to lower their costs or be saddled with excess hay after winter....they'll have to break down, lay down and plow back in. As a cattle producer i'm continually lowering my costs by not buying their corn stalk hay....so they need to lower theirs.

 

[TexasRancher]

I used the AgPhd soil removal app and found that each ton of hay at that time removed $70 of fertilizer from the soil and based on the discussion here the true cost of baling is at least $80 a ton. Last spring hay here was $100 a ton, so the act of baling and removing the hay was robbing from the future.
A few years ago, I got to attend a Neal Kinsey Agronomy course and got to visit with some of the top farmers in the nation. They regarded taking the straw off of a field as something that you would only do when your lease was done. On hay fields, there is a gradual depletion of the soil until the ground gives out.
The beautiful thing about grazing animals is that they return the nutrients to the soil. Direct grazing has a lot of advantages. I have friends east of Edmonton who graze standing corn through the winter. If they can do it in those conditions, it can be done in a lot of other places.

It's the most beautiful thing...seeing cattle graze fenced-off standing corn stalk land in winter. I don't know of anything more beautiful when it comes to winter and cattle.

 

[redcowsrule33]

Years ago it was common to graze behind the combines. All the fields were fenced. Now most of the land is leased to crop farmers, no one has their own cows any more, so the fences are gone. Leasing the crop land for grazing is no longer feasible due to the logistics and outlay for temporary fences. Around here if your perimeter fence gets taken down by deer and the cows get out people will call the cops before they call you. It's too bad but if you want corn fodder for the winter it gets wrapped in bales.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Well when it becomes not viable for most of us seeking corn stalk hay...then the farmers, hay producers can plow back in the corn stalks. I say $40. or plow them stalks back in. Years ago they never even baled corn stalk...nobody wanted them....we should go back to not baling corn stalks. Use older equipment to bale, change oil less, burn used motor oil or vegetable oil in lieu of diesel. Hay producers need to lower their costs or be saddled with excess hay after winter....they'll have to break down, lay down and plow back in. As a cattle producer i'm continually lowering my costs by not buying their corn stalk hay....so they need to lower theirs.

You're making this about your pocketbook on inputs.
Go invest 150K in equipment to produce hay . Bet your tune changes. You're wanting welfare hay.

 

[504RP]

Well when it becomes not viable for most of us seeking corn stalk hay...then the farmers, hay producers can plow back in the corn stalks. I say $40. or plow them stalks back in. Years ago they never even baled corn stalk...nobody wanted them....we should go back to not baling corn stalks. Use older equipment to bale, change oil less, burn used motor oil or vegetable oil in lieu of diesel. Hay producers need to lower their costs or be saddled with excess hay after winter....they'll have to break down, lay down and plow back in. As a cattle producer i'm continually lowering my costs by not buying their corn stalk hay....so they need to lower theirs.

I wouldn't bale corn stalks for no amount of money. Bailing corn stalks will wear a baler out fast.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Use older equipment to bale, change oil less, burn used motor oil or vegetable oil in lieu of diesel.

Spoken like somebody who isn't a big hay producer. All of those alternative come with their own costs like downtime, expensive maintaince, etc

Ill gladly run some older cheaper equipment and maybe charge less for hay. But with older equipment comes more breakdowns and less productivity so that "cheap" hay will most likely be over mature, potentially rained on, and since I wasn't as efficient with my time and fuel it won't be as "cheap" as you feel it should be.

 

[Logan52]

My need for hay is greater than my one hay field will produce. I have been fortunate to have someone cut and roll the hay very reasonably. I also purchase additional hay at (at least til this year) very reasonable prices.
The prices you all give that would cover the cost of producing hay would about put me out of the business.
Will cattle go the way of other ag commodities and only have room for the very largest producers or the small niche producers?

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Like I said above take all the charity hay you can get at $20-30 a bale. When your hay producer goes to replace a tractor or baler that has doubled in cost in the last 4 years don't be shocked at his new price of hay.