to cut hay or graze cattle

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here in mid tn for 1000 rolls it would cost at least 20000$. raising myself; equip-payment-4500-year fert-5000-year fuel-string-500-year total-10000$ save-10000$~~~~~~~my equipment will be paid in one more year so that will save even more untill i need all new again.im trying to take good care of it this time around.that dont includ my time or parts when something braks,but still a lot cheaper than buying my hay.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc
 
A couple years back I was at a grazing conference and one of the speakers said he didn't do hay and listed his reasons. They made sence to me. I went home sharpened my pencil and as a result got out of the hay business. Things to consider. If you don't bale hay you will still have the grass. How many more cattle can you run and how much will you make on them? Are there other sources of cheap hay in your area. In my area every year for the last four years I have bought hay cheaper than I could make it. But that will depend on your area. The nutrients brought on to your farm in the hay end up on your pastures in the form of manure. So there is a fertilizer savings to you. Let someone else buy the fertilizer that ends up on your field. And the biggest one was this guy said was that if he did hay it would dramatically change his families life style in the summer. So how much is your time worth? I really enjoy the time I now get to spend in the summer doing something other than haying. Life is too short to work 24/7 in a hay field.
Dave
 
I think you got to sharpen that pencil some more Tennessee. my baler payment is 1500/yr and it's the only decent piece of equip I've got. another 20,000 in tractors, wagons, sq baler(custom work to spread out costs) ect, DON'T forget to pay yourself! lost wages, days off; maintenence, grease, wear and tear, nuts, bolts, tires(46 of 'em) insurance-God forbid a kid gets hurt stacking hay in a barn! It turns out for my operation the hay drives the cow part! they get to eat what I can't sell to horses.
 
Tc":3bvli5s5 said:
here in mid tn for 1000 rolls it would cost at least 20000$. raising myself; equip-payment-4500-year fert-5000-year fuel-string-500-year total-10000$ save-10000$~~~~~~~my equipment will be paid in one more year so that will save even more untill i need all new again.im trying to take good care of it this time around.that dont includ my time or parts when something braks,but still a lot cheaper than buying my hay.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc

how many cows can you run on your hay fields 20 calves will more than cover the 10000............
 
WORANCH":ezodmdty said:
Tc":ezodmdty said:
here in mid tn for 1000 rolls it would cost at least 20000$. raising myself; equip-payment-4500-year fert-5000-year fuel-string-500-year total-10000$ save-10000$~~~~~~~my equipment will be paid in one more year so that will save even more untill i need all new again.im trying to take good care of it this time around.that dont includ my time or parts when something braks,but still a lot cheaper than buying my hay.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc

how many cows can you run on your hay fields 20 calves will more than cover the 10000............
nice Buck in your avatar
 
A. delaGarza":1gc1h4c0 said:
WORANCH":1gc1h4c0 said:
Tc":1gc1h4c0 said:
here in mid tn for 1000 rolls it would cost at least 20000$. raising myself; equip-payment-4500-year fert-5000-year fuel-string-500-year total-10000$ save-10000$~~~~~~~my equipment will be paid in one more year so that will save even more untill i need all new again.im trying to take good care of it this time around.that dont includ my time or parts when something braks,but still a lot cheaper than buying my hay.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc

how many cows can you run on your hay fields 20 calves will more than cover the 10000............
nice Buck in your avatar


thanks best one i have killed ...... :D
 
whether you buy hay or raise your own,you still need a tractor ,wagons,spears,ect...thats why i dont count it with hay expences.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc
 
Tc":2dhnsvj3 said:
whether you buy hay or raise your own,you still need a tractor ,wagons,spears,ect...thats why i dont count it with hay expences.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc

Now I know that I am not a large commercial operator (run only 40 head total), but I don't even own a tractor. I move my hay with a truck (bale spike and I have a single bale trailer). I hire out all of my tractor work or co-op it with a friend. I can hire out all of my tractor work for A LOT LESS money than tractor payments or the hassle of an older cheap tractor that requires my time and money to maintain it. I can forsee the day I might want one just for convenience, but it would clearly be a purchase with a very long return on investment.

Therefore, in your calculations, you should be computing the cost of the tractor and other equipment as a percentage of total cost based upon your percentage of use for that activity.
 
Tc":2afupzl1 said:
whether you buy hay or raise your own,you still need a tractor ,wagons,spears,ect...thats why i dont count it with hay expences.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc


when you add in labor, parts, and what you make from calves sold that are raised on the hay fields, you lose money.....i spend my summers fishing with my grandkids, not bailing hay..............
 
With rye grass I'm able to graze all winter , pull the cows in the middle of March when a little bahaia in other fields is coming in..by the middle of April I have a guy bale my hay on a 60-40 split..40 % is all I need so I get hay fairly cheap..and don't lose a lot of grazing time on my pasture...I think getting hay baled on a percentage even though I top dress it lightly is the way to go
 
apparently this subject is almost as opinionated and debatable as which breed of cattle to raise.

we cut and bale all our own hay. i think if you're doing it on a small basis, it probably is cheaper to just buy hay or have someone do it for you on a percentage. we don't custom bale anyone else's hay but we usually make more hay each year than we use so we sell what we don't need. in our area this year there was lots of hay around, so the price lower. we sold square bales (customer loads them out of the field) for $2.50/bale. if we've already hauled it and put it in the barn, the price goes up. we have several 60x40 metal barns where we store round bales (3 bales high) which can hold around 120 bales each. the rest of the round bales are stored outside (we usually have around 1000 bales on hand) & these are sold or used first. we choose to do our own haying for several reasons......one is that if you use your own pasture and have someone custom hay for you, you are at their mercy as to when they can cut and bale (whenever they can fit you in their schedule so your hay may get cut a little later & a little more mature than it should & they often don't seem as concerned about rain). also, if you purchase or have someone custom bale for you, unwanted seeds of certain grasses or weeds could get brought in and distributed. another reason is that we know the quality of the hay we're getting.
 
All very important considerations.
And you're right about opinions.
Just as what breeds or size of animals work best under specific mangament, haying falls into the same framework. On a strictly dollar basis it wouldn't pay for us. For the points you brought up it may pay, if not in direct dollars the indirect savings of weed control, the higher quality hay, etc. Running stockers to keep ahead of the available forage, stockpiling adequate forage for the winter, and destocking as the growth slows are all viable alternatives to putting up hay. But it won't work for everyone, or for that matter in all areas. Normally we try to keep all ofthe angles working. Including selling 7 tons of fescue seed last year, stockers, haying some pastures and stock piling others. But just because it worked last year doesn't mean it will work this year.

dun


txag":1pnlf7mi said:
apparently this subject is almost as opinionated and debatable as which breed of cattle to raise.

we cut and bale all our own hay. i think if you're doing it on a small basis, it probably is cheaper to just buy hay or have someone do it for you on a percentage. we don't custom bale anyone else's hay but we usually make more hay each year than we use so we sell what we don't need. in our area this year there was lots of hay around, so the price lower. we sold square bales (customer loads them out of the field) for $2.50/bale. if we've already hauled it and put it in the barn, the price goes up. we have several 60x40 metal barns where we store round bales (3 bales high) which can hold around 120 bales each. the rest of the round bales are stored outside (we usually have around 1000 bales on hand) & these are sold or used first. we choose to do our own haying for several reasons......one is that if you use your own pasture and have someone custom hay for you, you are at their mercy as to when they can cut and bale (whenever they can fit you in their schedule so your hay may get cut a little later & a little more mature than it should & they often don't seem as concerned about rain). also, if you purchase or have someone custom bale for you, unwanted seeds of certain grasses or weeds could get brought in and distributed. another reason is that we know the quality of the hay we're getting.
 
I must be a hayseed from Nevada. I pay $110/ton for alf/grass mix. Can someone PLEASE tell me where I can buy a 1200lb roll for 15 bucks here in western NV????
I'd be in Hog Heaven (ok... cow heaven)!!!
 

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