<br>(User Above)":1zib05ci said:: Is it cheaper to bale your own hay or just buy it? You can buy large round bales around here for about $25 delivered. I have 46 cows. My neighbor will loan me his old square baler to use with my tractor. Another neighbor will bale in round bales on 50/50 split. <p>For me it goes something like this:<p>I don't have the time or equipment to cut, rake <br>and bale! Not knowing where you are located I <br>would think using a square baler would be too much<br>trouble! You use time to bale and then more time <br>and labor to place in the barn.<p>50/50 split does not sound too bad! But some down<br>sides are that you have acreage tied to hay that<br>may serve better as pasture or winter grazing! <br>Also your at the mercy of the contractor! You can<br>bust your tail having a high class hay meadow, but<br>if the baler get's there late ( weeks to month) <br>your hay is all stem with less feed value!<p>Buying delivered. On a flat rate per bale can be <br>as above with hay too old at cutting. If you only<br>use one vendor, they could over sell and you would<br>be short! Or you could make a deal that the per <br>bale fee is based on quality and feed value! Using<br>hay forage samples the per bale amount could <br>increase based on quality! Example: poor/ $ 20.00,<br>better/ $ 30.00, best/ 35-40.00!<p>Would be better to talk to some producers in your<br>area and see how they handle this!<p>I hope to have 5 rolls per cow! The bales are <br>1500 to 2000 lbs.<p>Wish you luck!
<br>(User Above)":3gis241b said:: I assume that's 5 rolls per cow per year. With 5 rolls per cow how often are you having to feed? ...and are you able to pasture some during the winter?<p>Yes, 5 rolls for each cow for the winter feeding<br>period. I can feed once or twice a week depending<br>on the number of hay rings used and the number of<br>cows in that pasture. I try to get them to clean<br>up the hay good before I put out fresh hay. <br>Otherwise they will waste some! If you don't use<br>hay rings they will waste alot using it as a bed!<br>I keep a good mineral out year round and use one<br>of several types of free choice tubs for protein <br>and energy! I live some distance from my pasture<br>so it's better safe than sorry!
<br>(User Above)":16hp8hqb said:: Is it cheaper to bale your own hay or just buy it? You can buy large round bales around here for about $25 delivered. I have 46 cows. My neighbor will loan me his old square baler to use with my tractor. Another neighbor will bale in round bales on 50/50 split. <p>You can not buy baler, mower/conditioner, rake, tedder, etc and maintain that equipment for 46 cows. You will be involved in quite a bit of hay moving, so get a good trailer. If you find you need to cut your own, I would suggest going to long stem vacuum silage. Total equipment$ is less than 1 haybaler, and you get the very best of what you have to harvest without the rain and storage loss. I do this for 150 cow herd and it would pay for even 40 cow herd.
