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.