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Cattle Boards
Grasses, Pastures & Hay
Cost to produce square bale hay
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<blockquote data-quote="LauraleesFarm" data-source="post: 846133" data-attributes="member: 14261"><p>For our variable costs, my husband keeps a logbook where he records different expenses for each job we do. Start with each tractor freshly full of diesel. Record:</p><p>Hours on the tractor prior to starting cutting, prior to raking, and prior to baling (separate tractors if necessary, we have 3)</p><p>How many bales made</p><p>Approximately how many acres being farmed</p><p>Hours on the tractor after done cutting, after raking, and after baling (again, separate if necessary for multiple tractors)</p><p>Now fill the tractors after you are done and you know how much fuel you used for each tractor--record that</p><p>Now you can do many calculations with these figures such as:</p><p>cost per tractor hour</p><p>cost per bale</p><p>bales per acre</p><p>gallons of fuel used </p><p>And if you charged for the job you can figure how much you made per hour for what you got paid</p><p>We generally figure $0.50 per 4 x 5 round bale for twine, or $1.00 for net (could be more exact but its close enough for me).</p><p>Of course, you will have to address your fixed costs separately (tractor payment/depreciation) and also your maintenance costs. If you keep good records for tax purposes you could go back and estimate annual maintenance/repairs based on past figures.</p><p>In general, we make more on square bales than we do on 4 x 5 round.....and the square baler uses less fuel/pto demand. Squares are fairly profitable if it is horse quality hay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LauraleesFarm, post: 846133, member: 14261"] For our variable costs, my husband keeps a logbook where he records different expenses for each job we do. Start with each tractor freshly full of diesel. Record: Hours on the tractor prior to starting cutting, prior to raking, and prior to baling (separate tractors if necessary, we have 3) How many bales made Approximately how many acres being farmed Hours on the tractor after done cutting, after raking, and after baling (again, separate if necessary for multiple tractors) Now fill the tractors after you are done and you know how much fuel you used for each tractor--record that Now you can do many calculations with these figures such as: cost per tractor hour cost per bale bales per acre gallons of fuel used And if you charged for the job you can figure how much you made per hour for what you got paid We generally figure $0.50 per 4 x 5 round bale for twine, or $1.00 for net (could be more exact but its close enough for me). Of course, you will have to address your fixed costs separately (tractor payment/depreciation) and also your maintenance costs. If you keep good records for tax purposes you could go back and estimate annual maintenance/repairs based on past figures. In general, we make more on square bales than we do on 4 x 5 round.....and the square baler uses less fuel/pto demand. Squares are fairly profitable if it is horse quality hay. [/QUOTE]
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Cost to produce square bale hay
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