5 acres worth it to offer for haying?

[TractorGuy]

I have 5 acres I am digging stumps out of. I had it rezoned as AG timberland to be able to have it clear cut. I have no desire to replant in trees and was thinking I might find someone to use the land for hay production to keep an AG rating. If I loose the AG rating the tax difference is only about $700 per year. Everything I look into as far as prep and planting would cost way more than that.

As I am working through this process I have disc harrowed and raked the land fairly smooth. It seems to be filling in with grass as I mow it but it has two or three different varieties including Pensacola Bahia, Centipede, and some other kind of bunching grass. I assume for hay it would have to have all that killed out, land brought to proper PH and fertilized, then replanted.

Is it worth it for someone cutting hay to lease or use 5 acres if they do all the work and prep? Would there be any value in it for me or would I be lucky to find someone to do it just to keep an AG rating?

 

[M5farms]

If you have someone real close within 4 or 5 miles they might be interested in cutting it, not really worth the expense to travel further than that imo for that small of acreage. If it has fence and water someone may rent it as a heifer pen or a place for a few bulls in the off season.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I wouldn't touch that with my tractor until it had a mulcher or a root rake on a dozer ran through it and even then, I would most likely need some money to motivate me to do it. After all of that, it would have to be real close to me to make it worth my time to move all of the equipment in, back out, and haul the hay.

 

[M5farms]

If you have someone real close within 4 or 5 miles they might be interested in cutting it, not really worth the expense to travel further than that imo for that small of acreage. If it has fence and water someone may rent it as a heifer pen or a place for a few bulls in the off season.

 

[TractorGuy]

I wouldn't touch that with my tractor until it had a mulcher or a root rake on a dozer ran through it and even then, I would most likely need some money to motivate me to do it. After all of that, it would have to be real close to me to make it worth my time to move all of the equipment in, back out, and haul the hay.

I see your point on that. The area I have finished I have been mowing with a finish mower so I have been pretty thorough at removing the stumps, roots, and debris.

If you have someone real close within 4 or 5 miles they might be interested in cutting it, not really worth the expense to travel further than that imo for that small of acreage. If it has fence and water someone may rent it as a heifer pen or a place for a few bulls in the off season.

I do have people nearby that cut hay but I havn't approached any of them yet. The property is partially fenced and I would like to get it fully enclosed. I guess over time the tax savings might be worth the investment to do something other than let it go back to unimproved residential. I have one more year before I am obligated to have done something but I haven't finished cleaning it up.

 

[Creamer]

I have about a 3 acre patch that is almost all grass and makes some real nice hay. There is a small dairy farmer not to far from me that takes a cutting of hay off of it every year - I mow it and he rakes and bales it. I do not charge him for it but we work back and forth as good neighbors. It gets the first big growth off and then i mow it a couple more times per year for my own liking. He lives about 3/4 of a mile away. He would not pay for it nor would any bigger farmer want it. there is another guy who has an alfalfa field right next to it and i asked him about it since his first cutting is about the same time as we cut and he does not want grass hay for his dairy cows. Each to his own but you may have somebody who is interested.

 

[RickB]

If you have someone real close within 4 or 5 miles they might be interested in cutting it, not really worth the expense to travel further than that imo for that small of acreage. If it has fence and water someone may rent it as a heifer pen or a place for a few bulls in the off season.

Few if any farmers are going to drive 4 or 5 miles to make that little amount of hay.

 

[TractorGuy]

I have seen hay cutting less than a 1/4 mile from me. Next year I will let most of it grow up and see if I can contact them to see if they are interested. It may be worth having as is.

 

[M5farms]

Few if any farmers are going to drive 4 or 5 miles to make that little amount of hay.

Haha you should see what the hay peddlers do here. They Bale every 5 acre patch they can get within 20 miles of their home. That 5 acres could produce 20 plus rolls a year if taken care of

 

[RickB]

Haha you should see what the hay peddlers do here. They Bale every 5 acre patch they can get within 20 miles of their home. That 5 acres could produce 20 plus rolls a year if taken care of

They need to learn about cost of production then. Running 5 miles to make what 5-6 bales per cutting? That's a joke.

 

[DK35vince]

All I know is I have a 7 acre field that my neighbor hays and I don't get any money for it.
The neighbor takes the hay and it saves me having to mow it. Win, Win.

 

[M5farms]

All I know is I have a 7 acre field that my neighbor hays and I don't get any money for it.
The neighbor takes the hay and it saves me having to mow it. Win, Win.

There is value in that. I'm sure if you ever needed anything he would be the first one there. Sometimes it's not always about money or profit

 

[2458n]

I would keep it ag if possible.

 

[geoduck]

I have seen hay cutting less than a 1/4 mile from me. Next year I will let most of it grow up and see if I can contact them to see if they are interested. It may be worth having as is.

That would be a good idea. Lots of small acreage gets cut for cattle feed, often with no fee, but it sure cleans up the lot and keeps the land in production.

 

[CincyFlyer]

All I know is I have a 7 acre field that my neighbor hays and I don't get any money for it.
The neighbor takes the hay and it saves me having to mow it. Win, Win.

There are quite a few small fields owned by a local town that have hay free for the taking. Heck, they'll even let you mow it and not take it!

 

[tcreeley]

I buy my 200 square bales for the horses for 3 dollars per bale delivered, stacked + some for labor. I used to pick up. but no more, The local feed store is selling feed hay for 5 dollars a bale and 2nd cutting for 7 dollars a bale. If you have the equipment, you can make a little money, especially if you have a buyer. Horses- you want dust free, mold free hay that is not something rich like alfalfa hat they can colic from. Call around to the guys that sell hay- that's who will cut the hay for you.

 

[joeu235]

Buy several round bales and put them in a row near the road. Then you look like your "baling hay" and the tax man will never know the difference.

 

[TractorGuy]

Buy several round bales and put them in a row near the road. Then you look like your "baling hay" and the tax man will never know the difference.

We have a winner! :cool2:

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I have about a 8 or 9 acre hay field with fescue, bermuda, and johnson grasses. A neighbor hays it three or four times a year. He takes all the hay for free. He provides fertilizer and all the labor. If he doesn't do the fourth cut, then, around the first freeze, I mow the parts closest to my yard and barns with my rotary cutter to keep the winter fire hazard to a minimum. It's a win-win for both of us. I don't need hay, and he keeps the field clean and it stays taxed as agri. BTW, when I disturbed about a half acre building a quarter acre pond last year, I seeded it back at my expense.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Buy several round bales and put them in a row near the road. Then you look like your "baling hay" and the tax man will never know the difference.

It can be very costly to underestimate the tax man.