highgrit":1h6dr0zm said:
I don't see it JSCATTLE but if it works for you that's great. It must cost you less for the cow upfront than me, and you inputs per cow must also be cheaper. I'd hate to depend on someone else for the success of my business.
as an outsider looking to get started, this is something i'm very interested in. the cost just to own the equipment to make your own hay is unbelievable to me. if you grew your own grass (you can control the quality that way), and paid somebody simply to mow and bale for you, at $25/bale you'd never come out buying the equipment. even if you didn't count the cost of the tractor, it's out of reach by my math.
the expense of growing the grass, storing they hay is the same regardless of who mows it, right? i guess the downside would be that you couldn't get it done by somebody else at the exact right time, but that happens because of other factors if you make your own anyway. rain, equipment failures, life, day job, etc always seems to get in peoples way.
i'm really having a hard time understanding how small (or even medium or large operators) can afford to make hay, IF there are decent people out there who are baling it for $25/roll. now, if you enjoy doing it, don't like depending on somebody else etc, i can understand that completely.
on a tangent, it's the same way with the land itself. from a pure business perspective, i can't see how owning the land can be cost justified, vs the going rate of $25-$30/acre to rent here.