weight for square bales

[rc]

if i'm buying and have someone putting them in the barn (which I don't ever) I like em to be as heavy and tight as possible, however, when baling for the public what will be a good fair weight and size for square bales? I have a brand new Case IH 530 that I have only ran 6 bales through. They probably weigh around 60 to 70 pounds and are really tight. The dealer said not to do much adjusting until 15 or 20 had been baled.

 

[LimiMan]

What kind of hay?

 

[bigbull338]

most people that have their hay sq baled likes bales that weigh 60 to 70lbs.but some may like them at 80lbs.its really a personal perferance.

 

[rc]

Mixed bermuda grass hay. My experience with hay has been behind a baler picking it up so it'll be a learning experience.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Mixed bermuda grass hay. My experience with hay has been behind a baler picking it up so it'll be a learning experience.

if its bermuda its gonna be lighter, but id rather have it, than a heavy bale of fescue....... but want it tight . especially for horse's where i feed it in sections or blocks from a bale .

 

[ALX.]

Large buyers around here want them 50-55 lbs.( To ship south ).

Mine are usually 60-70 but if I changed anything I would make them a little lighter because the odd string breaks ( using heavy twine ) if a heavy one comes through.

 

[john250]

if i'm buying and have someone putting them in the barn (which I don't ever) I like em to be as heavy and tight as possible, however, when baling for the public what will be a good fair weight and size for square bales? I have a brand new Case IH 530 that I have only ran 6 bales through. They probably weigh around 60 to 70 pounds and are really tight. The dealer said not to do much adjusting until 15 or 20 had been baled.

The customer needs to answer this ?. Women feeding horses like lighter bales, or at least I have heard that.
Are you selling by the ton or by the bale?
These days, a 70 lb bale is pretty heavy.

 

[ChrisB]

I sent my wife to buy some hay at the sale barn a few years ago and sent along a scale so she could weigh bales before bidding on them. What everyone was calling 50-60 lb. bales actually weighed anywhere from 25-40 pounds.

If you are selling hay by the bale, you will come out ahead making lighter bales. That goes for both round and square bales. Most of the horse people don't seem to be too concerned about weight, they would rather pay $4.00 for a 30 lb. bale than $5.00 for a 60 lb. bale. I'm not sure if that's an honest way of doing things, but that's seems to be how it works in my area.

 

[dyates]

I bale hay in such a way to produce tight bales of good quality. Sometimes that means light bales, sometimes heavy. Baling conditions can change in a matter of a few minutes requiring you to readjust the baler. Dry grass may only weigh in at 40 pounds. Alfalfa/grass mix may hit 65-70 pounds or more. I adjust my prices to reflect what is/isn't in the bale. Long story short, I would rather have a 30 pound bale of good hay versus a 70 pound bale of hay that somebody turned into crap by baling it wrong.

 

[BARNSCOOP]

I agree that working on quality is more important than quanity. I also think that a 50-60lb bale is a fair size. Funny thing is that when you really get down to weighing your squares or rounds it will hurt your feelings because it hardly ever what you thought it was anyway. Have you ever noticed that squares seem to weigh 50lbs in the beginning and 85lbs at the end of the day!

 

[grannysoo]

Most everyone around here goes for 50 pounds.

 

[Jim62]

50 or 60 pound square bales suit me pretty good. I'm too old to want to deal with 70 pound bales.

I have always wondered about round bales. Most sellers say that their rolls are about 2000 pounds +/-. Never have weighed one, but I doubt that they are that heavy. These same most sellers will deliver you a load of 21 rolls on a trailer rated for 20,000 gross, pulled with a dually pickup.

Does not compute.

 

[Fred Belknap]

I find that it is hard to keep the weight consistant as so many things change it. The type of grass, moisture content,time of day ,how it is raked. I weighed a bale and it weighed 48lbs and left on the scales for a few weeks and noticed it had lost weight. I bale mostly for female horse owners and they seem to appreciate a lighter bale. After loading a few trailers I do too.

 

[rc]

I'm thinking about 50 pounds too. Most anyone throwing them on a trailer would probably agree.

 

[msscamp]

If you are selling hay by the bale, you will come out ahead making lighter bales. That goes for both round and square bales. Most of the horse people don't seem to be too concerned about weight, they would rather pay $4.00 for a 30 lb. bale than $5.00 for a 60 lb. bale. I'm not sure if that's an honest way of doing things, but that's seems to be how it works in my area.

In the event I ever move to Mn, I'm making a mental note to never buy hay from you. If I did the math right, that comes out to $266.66/ton as opposed to $166.66/ton for the 60 lb bale - I don't think so, thank you very much! :lol:

 

[msscamp]

if i'm buying and have someone putting them in the barn (which I don't ever) I like em to be as heavy and tight as possible, however, when baling for the public what will be a good fair weight and size for square bales? I have a brand new Case IH 530 that I have only ran 6 bales through. They probably weigh around 60 to 70 pounds and are really tight. The dealer said not to do much adjusting until 15 or 20 had been baled.

I can't tell you the length/width/depth of our bales, but I can tell you that they average 65 lbs/bale. We take a sampling of bales from various parts of the field, weigh them on certified scales, and divide the weight by the number of bales weighed. We then determine what we need to be charging/ton based on the expenses to produce the hay + a small profit, divide that number by the number of bales it takes to make a ton, and that is what we charge per bale. Same thing is done for our 3x3x8 bales.

 

[john250]

If you are selling hay by the bale, you will come out ahead making lighter bales. That goes for both round and square bales. Most of the horse people don't seem to be too concerned about weight, they would rather pay $4.00 for a 30 lb. bale than $5.00 for a 60 lb. bale. I'm not sure if that's an honest way of doing things, but that's seems to be how it works in my area.

In the event I ever move to Mn, I'm making a mental note to never buy hay from you. If I did the math right, that comes out to $266.66/ton as opposed to $166.66/ton for the 60 lb bale - I don't think so, thank you very much! :lol:

Chris comment would be true in my area as well. I don't know that rec horse buyers think in $/ton. Strictly $/bale. The seller with a 65 lb bale won't be able to charge much more than the seller with the 40 lb bale. And most folks aren't physically able to toss 65 lb up into the loft, so they prefer a lighter bale.
If the customer doesn't make weight a consideration, and buys on factors like "easy to handle", then the buyer is satisfied and that is all that really counts.
More astute buyers will take a scale with them and weigh a few bales. Or, run the load across a scale. And sample for moisture. Not a lot of folks do that.

 

[LimiMan]

Anyone that buys hay by the bale instead of by the ton is a :dunce:

 

[ALX.]

[quote
If the customer doesn't make weight a consideration, and buys on factors like "easy to handle", then the buyer is satisfied and that is all that really counts.

Too bad more of us in agriculture didn't think like that, we lock ourselves out of markets.

 

[1982vett]

I price mine accoring to weight, quality, and expenses. Add a reasonable amount for profit. If that price is to high because you know someone else that sells hay cheaper that is fine by me. Mine will stay in the barn. I will no longer sell hay for less that it cost to produce just because it is spring and I have hay left over. I asked one fellow that usually buys hay he was going to need this year. He bought early last year when supplies were low and prices were higher. He started complaining how high my prices were and that he thought the bales were lighter than they should be. Then he said that he was probably going to sell the cows because of rising cost and lack of time and little return. I told him I understood his situation because I face some of the same problems with rising expenses and smaller returns. Wished him the best on whichever route he took.