Small vs Large Round Bale Price Questions

[leeave96]

Couple of quick questions regarding small round bales of hay. Scanning over our local adds, it looks like in general a 4x4 bale fetches on average about $20ish. However, the smaller 3x4 round bales of hay, those made like with a Hesston 530 or similar MF 1734 seem to bring the same price.

For those of you buying and/or selling, do the smaller 3x4 round bales generally demand a higher price - maybe due to horse owners liking them for their size and ease of moving around/feeding?

Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[DT86]

I've both bought and sold a bit of hay through the years.

Never seen any 3x4 for sale but I'd say you pay as much or more for the labor and equipment usage involved than the hay itself. That would probably factor in more so with smaller rolls. More string, more stop and go, more time handling the same amount of hay.

Just a thought.

 

[Tx Jim]

Some people view a bale of hay no matter the size as "a bale of hay". They have no concept of the vast differences in the cu ft of hay in different size bales.

 

[leeave96]

One of the things I was pondering is - around my neck of the woods, farms are pretty small - compared to the south or mid-west. Many 20 acre or less fields and with it small operations. It seems we have a fair amount of folks with "hobby" farms, horses, maybe goats or a few cattle. With that, there is a limit to how much $$$'s folks will spend on equipment or anything at all - as they have day jobs and the farm is more of a cash sink than a profit center. So where in the past, square bales were great, now they aren't so easy to get and wrestling a 4x4 or larger bale is difficult. It makes me think that maybe a small round bale would bring a premium similar to a square bale as they are somewhat easier to handle by hand and haul with 1/2 ton or small trucks and trailers.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Texasmark]

Agree with others. Convenience factors into the net worth for the buyer.

Around here the standard was 5x6 with varying densities and type of material meaning varying tonnage for the bale. Course if you have a little 30 hp tractor, that's too heavy since the bale could weigh from 1400 to 2000#.

Then there were the bales that were shrunk down so that they only made 5 x 5.5 and 5x5. Then along comes the popularity of the 4x6 (2 will sit side by side on an 18 wheeler and not be considered a "wide load" for highway transport) and all of a sudden they are selling for the same price as the 5x6 used to with 20 % less hay all other things equal. Then comes the 4.5 and then the 4x4. I too haven't seen the 4x3 but some of the small farm balers may produce them. I think I have seen ads for such.

Then comes the quality of the product which can vary from A to Z due to seed type, weeds, condition during the baling process....getting rained on, fertilization, etc. So, it's just a matter of how the buyer feels about the purchase. In the dead of winter when you have cows to feed you take what you can get and be thankful for it and normally it's of lesser quality and a lot higher priced.

Numerous times you read on sites such as this where folks talk about a ton this and a ton that. Here's how you would sell by the ton around here:

1. Seller agrees to sell that way and figure a price per ton.
2. Somebody has to transport it to the scales. Around here they are about 15 miles distant. Cost?
3. Somebody has to haul it from the scales to it's destination. Cost?
4. Since each bale comes from a different part of the field, each could be different by that or baling irregularities, so each has to be hauled as mentioned above for the correct tonnage.
5. Seller and buyer agree that's too much trouble.
6. Seller points to a bale of hay and tells the potential buyer: There's a bale of hay and it's $X.XX. Take it or leave it!

Mark

 

[MH8675309]

In our area most of the horse people wont buy round bales. They tend to like very green 2nd or 3rd cutting than hasn't been rained on. I do 2 hay auctions here in MI. The one is at the local stockyards and our buyers consist of farmers, hobby farmers, horse people, and Amish. Round bales do decent at this sale. Lots of Amish buy these and they have simple slides or jack-up cradles to draw the bales around with their horses. The other sale is about 35 miles south and is near an area known for lots of horses. You cant hardly sell a round bale there. Myself I keep some beef cattle and some horses and we feed nothing but round bales in the winter. It is much more convenient (if you have the machine to move it) and I think overall it is more cost efficient to buy round bales.

 

[Texasmark]

I sold my square baler when I couldn't get any help. Boys that you could hire for the job of moving the bales from the field to the customer's barn have totally disappeared.

There are horse people in the area. Gag line around here is they buy for themselves, not what the horse needs. Not going to go into details but shouldn't take much to see the origin of the rub and like a lawyer going to a trial, you can defend either side.

Mark

 

[5030]

Interesting. I run rounds and squares and have had the same crew for years, all experienced grown men that actually like to put away hay, myself included and I'm 65. I pay them well, I have established customers and I charge a lot for the hay and get it. My customers know I'm straight, don't lie and they always get the good stuff without fail. I've had the same basic customer base for 10 years now, a couple of draft horse owners that take rounfs and equestrian people that use small squares.

No auctions for me. I have actually presold hay before it was cut and bailed. Did it this year too.

I don't run junk equipment for starters. I like to run late model stuff, preferrably what I buy new and when it gets some hours on it, I replace it. I over maintain everything including the tractors and all the squipment stays inside except when it's haying. I even wax my hay tools and every tool is NH. I plan on doing this until I can't get up in a tractor anymore. I started open station by getting older brings on creature comforts like ac and air ride seats

No labor issues here, never have been, but I don't nickle and dime them either. I pay an equitable rate and even give them all something for Christmas plus I'm friends with all 3. If I need to do another task, any of the 3 can operate the equipment too. I'm well over 5000 small squares to date with one more cut and just bought a new NH roll belt net/twine baler to replace one that was starting to have issues.

I have just 2 customers that require rounds plus my wife for her draft horses but why run junk. Junk breaks.

I agree kids are worthless today so why look for kids in the first place?