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Grasses, Pastures & Hay
IS HAY REALLY TOO HIGH?
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<blockquote data-quote="Suzie Q" data-source="post: 859297" data-attributes="member: 14334"><p>How much does it cost to make a $70.00 bale of hay? You need the same amount of equipment to make one bale of hay as you do to make 1000 bales of hay.</p><p></p><p>If you start from nothing just put down how much it costs to buy:</p><p></p><p>A tractor - let's say second hand for $20,000.00 (Australian dollars)</p><p></p><p>A soil test $200.00</p><p></p><p>Ploughs - we have quite a few that we bought second hand. Some hundreds of dollars each or you can go up to a powered plough for $35,000.00 or more.</p><p></p><p>The ground has to be worked for 12 months prior to planting. If you don't and the crop fails you have no fallback. Add to the soil what is recommended in the soil test. Can be thousands of dollars. Quite silly if you don't.</p><p></p><p>Irrigation - to put down the irrigation cost the former owners $100,000.00 but that was say 20 years ago so you might want to add some dollars on for inflation.</p><p></p><p>2 bores I have no idea of the cost of that - one submersible pump cost us $15,000.00, but there are two down there. No idea on the irrigator but to replace the hose is going to cost us $5,000.00</p><p></p><p>The seeder, well we managed to get that cheap for a couple of thousand dollars. A fertiliser spreader is not as much second hand, about $500.00.</p><p></p><p>The lucerne (alfalfa) seed and fertilizer for a small paddock is again over $1,000.00</p><p></p><p>To water the seed, put down over $100.00 a day to irrigate for the electricity. 3 days to irrigate the whole small paddock. How many times for a crop is up to the weather.</p><p></p><p>Mower conditioner - ours was $15,000.00 second hand.</p><p></p><p>$7,000.00 for a new rotary rake, less for second hand, you can't work another job and make hay at the same time. You rake during the day. Every day from the day you started.</p><p></p><p>Baler - A baler, around $5,000.00 or under for a small square baler second hand. $15,000.00 for a second hand round baler. Don't forget that everything you buy second hand will break down more than something bought new.</p><p></p><p>We bale lucerne at night so as you don't knock the leaf off. You can only bale for so long until the dew comes down and you have to stop. So if not finished you are raking during the day and baling at night. Some nights it can be midnight before it is ready to bale. It is not long before you are a walking zombie and can't be trusted to do anything that needs thinking or not.</p><p></p><p>You need a hay trailer (several $$$$$)to pick up the hay. By hand if you don't have an accumulator and grab ($16,000.00) for small bales. A hay fork on a tractor to pick up round bales.</p><p></p><p>For us that means 3 tractors. One baling. One pulling the hay trailer and one picking up the hay. The hay puller is 75 hp. The baler 95 hp and the one picking up the round bales is a new one that is only 75 hp but we were told it would outpull an 85 hp John Deere Tractor. That tractor is a Valtra and cost us $80,000.00 yes you could buy second hand for less. That tractor needs to have a front end loader for the hay fork.</p><p></p><p>If small square bales they have to be kept undercover. So another $30,000.00 for the hay shed. Which is actually too small a shed if you want to be commercial. So a bigger shed would be better.</p><p></p><p>Round bales would have to be kept inside if going to be kept to be sold, so you would need a larger shed than that.</p><p></p><p>A truck so as you can deliver the hay. Ours $135,000.00 which is nowhere near a semi trailer.</p><p></p><p>The year before last the bore was hit by lightning. Took months to fix, we missed the hay season.</p><p></p><p>Last year whole property in flood for months, but it was the abnormal rain every day for 3 months that killed the lucerne. So we missed the hay season again and this time lost our crop.</p><p></p><p>We have seeded 2 paddocks and are ploughing another one. The lucerne has started coming up for this hay season. Let us hope that we do not get a flood that drowns it and have to start from square 1 again.</p><p></p><p>Now add in services on the tractors, oil, diesel, filters, same for truck as well as rego, and if not bought with you own money interest at the Bank.</p><p></p><p>I don't think I have forgotten anything. Other than paying other workers if you can't do it all yourself.</p><p></p><p>Then imagine your life completely and totally ruled by the weather. You can cut when they say no rain for months and it will rain the next day, and remember that this is a job that has a high amount of suicide.</p><p></p><p>So how much is a bale of hay worth. If you ask me. PRICELESS.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Suzie Q, post: 859297, member: 14334"] How much does it cost to make a $70.00 bale of hay? You need the same amount of equipment to make one bale of hay as you do to make 1000 bales of hay. If you start from nothing just put down how much it costs to buy: A tractor - let's say second hand for $20,000.00 (Australian dollars) A soil test $200.00 Ploughs - we have quite a few that we bought second hand. Some hundreds of dollars each or you can go up to a powered plough for $35,000.00 or more. The ground has to be worked for 12 months prior to planting. If you don't and the crop fails you have no fallback. Add to the soil what is recommended in the soil test. Can be thousands of dollars. Quite silly if you don't. Irrigation - to put down the irrigation cost the former owners $100,000.00 but that was say 20 years ago so you might want to add some dollars on for inflation. 2 bores I have no idea of the cost of that - one submersible pump cost us $15,000.00, but there are two down there. No idea on the irrigator but to replace the hose is going to cost us $5,000.00 The seeder, well we managed to get that cheap for a couple of thousand dollars. A fertiliser spreader is not as much second hand, about $500.00. The lucerne (alfalfa) seed and fertilizer for a small paddock is again over $1,000.00 To water the seed, put down over $100.00 a day to irrigate for the electricity. 3 days to irrigate the whole small paddock. How many times for a crop is up to the weather. Mower conditioner - ours was $15,000.00 second hand. $7,000.00 for a new rotary rake, less for second hand, you can't work another job and make hay at the same time. You rake during the day. Every day from the day you started. Baler - A baler, around $5,000.00 or under for a small square baler second hand. $15,000.00 for a second hand round baler. Don't forget that everything you buy second hand will break down more than something bought new. We bale lucerne at night so as you don't knock the leaf off. You can only bale for so long until the dew comes down and you have to stop. So if not finished you are raking during the day and baling at night. Some nights it can be midnight before it is ready to bale. It is not long before you are a walking zombie and can't be trusted to do anything that needs thinking or not. You need a hay trailer (several $$$$$)to pick up the hay. By hand if you don't have an accumulator and grab ($16,000.00) for small bales. A hay fork on a tractor to pick up round bales. For us that means 3 tractors. One baling. One pulling the hay trailer and one picking up the hay. The hay puller is 75 hp. The baler 95 hp and the one picking up the round bales is a new one that is only 75 hp but we were told it would outpull an 85 hp John Deere Tractor. That tractor is a Valtra and cost us $80,000.00 yes you could buy second hand for less. That tractor needs to have a front end loader for the hay fork. If small square bales they have to be kept undercover. So another $30,000.00 for the hay shed. Which is actually too small a shed if you want to be commercial. So a bigger shed would be better. Round bales would have to be kept inside if going to be kept to be sold, so you would need a larger shed than that. A truck so as you can deliver the hay. Ours $135,000.00 which is nowhere near a semi trailer. The year before last the bore was hit by lightning. Took months to fix, we missed the hay season. Last year whole property in flood for months, but it was the abnormal rain every day for 3 months that killed the lucerne. So we missed the hay season again and this time lost our crop. We have seeded 2 paddocks and are ploughing another one. The lucerne has started coming up for this hay season. Let us hope that we do not get a flood that drowns it and have to start from square 1 again. Now add in services on the tractors, oil, diesel, filters, same for truck as well as rego, and if not bought with you own money interest at the Bank. I don't think I have forgotten anything. Other than paying other workers if you can't do it all yourself. Then imagine your life completely and totally ruled by the weather. You can cut when they say no rain for months and it will rain the next day, and remember that this is a job that has a high amount of suicide. So how much is a bale of hay worth. If you ask me. PRICELESS. [/QUOTE]
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