hay question

[boone]

An elderly woman at church whos husband recently passed away asked me a question & I am trying to get some opinions so I don't lead her astray. She has about 40 acres of fescue that a local fellow cuts, rakes, and bales, then takes the hay and pays her a share. Last year she got $6 for each 5 X 5 round bale and feels like she's getting taken advantage of. I have ideas, but I need some more opinions. Thanks, Dan

 

[JMichal]

Depends on the quality of hay, and the supply & demand. If he could only get $25 per bale it's fair. It cost me $16 per bale figuring only $10 per hr labor. No machinery upkeep included.

 

[iowafarmer]

Depends what his input costs are and what your local hay market is.

 

[bigbull338]

we have 40acs of just native type grass.that we sell standing for $6 a bale.so that doesnt sound unfair to me.our 40ac meadow usually makes 100 bales or more.an thats cut just once a yr.

 

[Phil in Tupelo]

That sounds reasonable if he is liming and fertilizing to replace fertility that he is removing. I don't know if MO needs lime like MS. If he is taking care of the land it is likely a good rate.

 

[dun]

I don't know if MO needs lime like MS. If he is taking care of the land it is likely a good rate.

I didn;t think there was anyplace that needed lime like MO. In the Ozarks most of the land is reclaimed form oak timber. The soil, what there is of it, seems to revert to acidity even if nothing is cut from it.

 

[yme]

Assumption

#1 ground makes 2 bales per. = 80 bales (low in my opinion)
#2 "standard" share is between 1/2 and 1/3 (may be higher this year with fuel cost). = between 28 and 40 bales for the land owner.
#3 $35 per bale. (low in my opinion as 4 weeks ago you could of got $50 plus)

so

28 x $35 = $980 and 35 X $40 = $1400

currently getting $6 per bale.

so

80 x $6 = $480

I would say she is getting shorted between $500 and $920 (in my opinion that is a very conservative guess) unless he is doing some up keep on the land. If she has any ground in NEMO let me know. :lol2: (only joking)

 

[CUZ]

An elderly woman at church whos husband recently passed away asked me a question & I am trying to get some opinions so I don't lead her astray. She has about 40 acres of fescue that a local fellow cuts, rakes, and bales, then takes the hay and pays her a share. Last year she got $6 for each 5 X 5 round bale and feels like she's getting taken advantage of. I have ideas, but I need some more opinions. Thanks, Dan

I'm afraid, unfortunately, this is going to fall under the "no good deed goes unpunished" category.

1. Widow lady wants your input.
2. You want to help her.
3. She gives you about 25% of the info you need to really be able to advise her.
4. There is a 50/50 chance all she really wants is for you to agree with her conclusion.
5. The only way for you to really be able to help her is to get smack in the middle of her business.

Basically all you can do is talk about how things are generally done, like in yme's post, but be sure to explain that you don't know all the details on her deal.

Good luck.

 

[JMichal]

Assumption

#1 ground makes 2 bales per. = 80 bales (low in my opinion)
#2 "standard" share is between 1/2 and 1/3 (may be higher this year with fuel cost). = between 28 and 40 bales for the land owner.
#3 $35 per bale. (low in my opinion as 4 weeks ago you could of got $50 plus)

so

28 x $35 = $980 and 35 X $40 = $1400
currently getting $6 per bale.

so

80 x $6 = $480










I would say she is getting shorted between $500 and $920 (in my opinion that is a very conservative guess) unless he is doing some up keep on the land. If she has any ground in NEMO let me know. :lol2: (only joking)

But around here we only can get $20 pr bale this past year because of the supply.

 

[alabama]

I would say that she has nothing invested except the condition of the land. If the hay cutter is keeping up the land with lime and fertelizer she is comming out even. And if he pays her $10 to $15 an acre too, that is more than fair.
If he is paying but not keeping up the land she needs to find another hay cutter.

 

[yme]

Assumption

#1 ground makes 2 bales per. = 80 bales (low in my opinion)
#2 "standard" share is between 1/2 and 1/3 (may be higher this year with fuel cost). = between 28 and 40 bales for the land owner.
#3 $35 per bale. (low in my opinion as 4 weeks ago you could of got $50 plus)

so

28 x $35 = $980 and 35 X $40 = $1400
currently getting $6 per bale.

so

80 x $6 = $480

I would say she is getting shorted between $500 and $920 (in my opinion that is a very conservative guess) unless he is doing some up keep on the land. If she has any ground in NEMO let me know. :lol2: (only joking)

But around here we only can get $20 pr bale this past year because of the supply.

I guess it is all about local demand for hay. I was under the impression that hay in SWMO was even harder to find then it was up here in NEMO. I have a friend in the Springfield area who talked like hay prices were really high down there.

 

[JMichal]

We have hay everywhere.

 

[redfornow]

An elderly woman at church whos husband recently passed away asked me a question & I am trying to get some opinions so I don't lead her astray. She has about 40 acres of fescue that a local fellow cuts, rakes, and bales, then takes the hay and pays her a share. Last year she got $6 for each 5 X 5 round bale and feels like she's getting taken advantage of. I have ideas, but I need some more opinions. Thanks, Dan

Boone

Around here you get 10 bucks an acre for a hay lease.
15 if its nice. You treat it as you will. Of course the better you treat the land the more you get out of it.
The more "neighbors" want you in their world. :tiphat:
So you get paid to play nice.
There isnt a way in the world I would lime, fert, cut, rake, bale, and give 6 bucks a bale....

Sounds like she is coming out pretty good.

When hay gets up to 50 a bale everyone thinks their land is worth more.
Life I reckon.

 

[Anonymous]

Around here we can lease land for 15.00 an acre so she is coming out about the same. I have a 40 acre field leased for $500 a year on a 5 year agreement and a hand shake.

 

[lucky7chief]

It depends on who is responsible for fertilizer. I've done it both ways. We fertilize and bale for 2/3 of the hay. Or, we just bale for 1/2 of the hay. Baling includes cutting, tedding (when necessary), raking, and baling. I also help load or move the hay for the landowner.

 

[yme]

Assumption

#1 ground makes 2 bales per. = 80 bales (low in my opinion)
#2 "standard" share is between 1/2 and 1/3 (may be higher this year with fuel cost). = between 28 and 40 bales for the land owner.
#3 $35 per bale. (low in my opinion as 4 weeks ago you could of got $50 plus)

so

28 x $35 = $980 and 35 X $40 = $1400
currently getting $6 per bale.

so

80 x $6 = $480

I would say she is getting shorted between $500 and $920 (in my opinion that is a very conservative guess) unless he is doing some up keep on the land. If she has any ground in NEMO let me know. :lol2: (only joking)

But around here we only can get $20 pr bale this past year because of the supply.

I guess it is all about local demand for hay. I was under the impression that hay in SWMO was even harder to find then it was up here in NEMO. I have a friend in the Springfield area who talked like hay prices were really high down there.

Talked to my friend this weekend and he said heck yes hay is high, he said he paid almost $30 per bale for some really good hay. :cry2: cry me a river. I don't think he believed me when I said around $50 per around here.