Talk to me about hay equipment

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Anonymous

With hay being my single largest expense I have to find a better way rather than buying it. Just this last 2 days I secured 50 acres of hay fields in 2 different locations. The guy I've been buying from will cut and roll for 18/roll and 5 bucks delivery. He's starting one field this weekend for me that should make 60 rolls of mixed grass.
Is it worthwhile at that price to get my own equipment or just hire it out?
If I get equipment and do it myself what is the most economical way and what cutter and roller? Used of course. Keep in mind I don't know squat about haying except a general idea of the process. A rake is simple but the cutter and roller I have no idea on.
 
That is about the going rate here in MO too for rolling and delivery. I would hire it out. Unless you were going to do custom haying for others to offset the cost of the equipment I don't see how you can be ahead. You are also saving money securing the hay fields and not having to pay for the hay off of somebody else's ground; that's a plus.

People will say if you have your own equipment you can put it up when you want, I agree with that but you still have to contend with the weather regardless so even doing it yourself doesn't guarantee you can put it up the exact time you want. Might get closer but if you have a good relationship with this guy I'm sure you can work out something satisfactory.

Quality of the hay is the biggest factor in my opinion. Cheap junk requires supplementation which further eats into profit. I wish a greater emphasis was placed on quality instead of quantity around here. I'd gladly pay more money for tested hay.

Sorry for the lengthly rant; my hay all tested a little short and supplementation will be needed. That's been on my mind as of late.
 
Quality is my goal too, because not many pay attention to that down here. I have a good working relationship with 2 different custom cutters. One I have helped with his cattle, the other actually turned me onto one of my leases. One field is ready to cut now (remember this is florida) in Bermuda mainly and I called both up. One can't get to it because he's working on an 800 acre cut and the other said he will start it Friday or Saturday. Hard to beat that.
 
I would hire it out for a couple of years. I have my own hay land and equipment because the custom balers never showed up.
That is the justification for doing it yourself.

Remember though, baling hay takes time away from things that may be just as beneficial.
If your confident one of those guys will ALWAYS show up then it's a no-brainer.
 
Hard to beat that I guess. Getting them there at the right time was always a struggle for me. 18$ is high IMO, of course u bale my own so I think it's the way to go, but sometimes I think it would be more fun to have my money that's invested in hay equipment, invested in more cattle instead. Also I would consider how stable of a lease you have before thinking of buying anything.
 
One thing to keep in mind about equipment is that if you buy used, you probably won't lose too much money on it if you decide to get out of it down the road. My first baler was a NH 850 that after buying, repairing, and trading it off, cost me right around $3 per bale, My next baler was about $4.00, and my current baler is $3.50 and that is not counting the money I would get selling it or trading it off. If I did, I would guess it would be around $1.50.

Now if your buying new equipment, no way you could justify it for 50 acres.

I think the bigger concern is if you have time to cut, rake, bale, and haul.

If you do decide to put it up yourself (I would); I would suggest a NH 489 haybine (probably around $4000 for a nice one), and either a JD 430 or NH 650 baler which could be had for around $6000 I would think for a nice one. In my opinion balers made a jump in capacity, bale density, and dependability in the late 1980's and these models.
 
dieselbeef":2hwl5wl8 said:
i can get rd bales here for bout 25-30 roll here corey
Not here. 40/ roll and sometimes has also of junk in it. The main benefit is controlling the quality and cutting the cost
 
ocala too far..truckin is cheaper than baling..

here the balers just do it for half the take on the field. they dont truck it tho. cut it roll t..take half with em. or sell thier half right out of the field
 
so check this out....

my guy calls me and tells me hes gonna have plenty ofhay this yr how much do i want at 25 /roll. so i tell him ill take 40 and ill resale some at that price. since i sell feed i can do both to the same customer
still aint got any. he had a fallout with his guy and so it didnt get cut..still aint got cut...2 more weeks he tells me...i told him i only need 20-30 now to get me by. seasons in full swing bro..wtf

another reason to cut yer own...if i buy it as a reg customer ill pay 30-35 for it from another cutter
 
yeah good fert hermathia...really tight heavy net rolls. my 30hp massey wouldnt even lift em. cows didnt even leave a speck of it on the ground. a yr later they didnt leave speck of it
 
It would be handy to haul your tractor on too. I bought a 20' as it was a deal, wish I would have waited on a 24'.
 
J&D Cattle":244t3g0o said:
It would be handy to haul your tractor on too. I bought a 20' as it was a deal, wish I would have waited on a 24'.
I have a 18ft that will haul 14 double stacked and will also haul my tractor. But for 5 a roll if I'm having it custom cut it's worth the haul. If I cut and roll
Myself that may be a different story
 

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