If you need hay and 100 is the going rate............
So dry ... Cut, rake & bale
- Thread starter blueriver
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If you need hay and 100 is the going rate............
bigbull338
Elite Member
i need hay but i wont ever pay that for any round bale of hay.if i was id buy all alalfa hay.no 1 round here will pay it either,thats why they are hauling their cows to the sale.its cheaper to feed out of a sack than give $100 a bale for hay.
MMagis
Veteran Member
And that's saying something with $7 corn.
jimmyj
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I don't know as much as you guys about hay production but I have a lot of farmer pals and can share our area's performance.
The dairy guys usually take 3 cuts, heavy on the alfalfa, around here. Most horse, cattle, sheep hay producers get 1 good first cut in June and another lower quality cut (that usually is about half the yeild) per season.
The 1st cut for the guys came off pretty good this year but then the heat wave hit and it didn't rain for ages and ages. Even the corn and many trees were getting brown along the leaf edges. On Sunday I noticed a local dairy guy, who is always the first to cut, had taken his 2nd cut and it shocked me. He must have cut Saturday and baled Sunday. The alfalfa was not high at all before he cut and it must have been dry as dust. The field almost looks like one that had wheat cut off it with nothing but short brown mowed stems now.
It's started to rain again, we got 3 inches probably or more in the last 36 hours but I don't know how good 2nd cut will be for the guys, and hay will probably have a price spike for sure.
Around here, good hay in the 800 to 900 lb bale size would be $35 per bale (nice quality too) in a normal year. "Really expensive" horsey hay may hit $65 a bale for 4x5 that weighed 750lbs or so. I think the hay prices are stupid low really, they haven't increased the prices in 10 years even though costs have gone up. I think they could, albeit I feel for the cattle farmer if he does not grow his own. I've never seen a $100 bale ever around this area, regardless of size.
Interesting how the prices vary so much by area.
The dairy guys usually take 3 cuts, heavy on the alfalfa, around here. Most horse, cattle, sheep hay producers get 1 good first cut in June and another lower quality cut (that usually is about half the yeild) per season.
The 1st cut for the guys came off pretty good this year but then the heat wave hit and it didn't rain for ages and ages. Even the corn and many trees were getting brown along the leaf edges. On Sunday I noticed a local dairy guy, who is always the first to cut, had taken his 2nd cut and it shocked me. He must have cut Saturday and baled Sunday. The alfalfa was not high at all before he cut and it must have been dry as dust. The field almost looks like one that had wheat cut off it with nothing but short brown mowed stems now.
It's started to rain again, we got 3 inches probably or more in the last 36 hours but I don't know how good 2nd cut will be for the guys, and hay will probably have a price spike for sure.
Around here, good hay in the 800 to 900 lb bale size would be $35 per bale (nice quality too) in a normal year. "Really expensive" horsey hay may hit $65 a bale for 4x5 that weighed 750lbs or so. I think the hay prices are stupid low really, they haven't increased the prices in 10 years even though costs have gone up. I think they could, albeit I feel for the cattle farmer if he does not grow his own. I've never seen a $100 bale ever around this area, regardless of size.
Interesting how the prices vary so much by area.
bigbull338
Elite Member
yes its saying that hay has priced its self out of range.hay cost $2 to $2.50 a cow a day.an feed cost .80 cents a cow a day depending on what you feed.
bigbull338
Elite Member
my ideal roll is a 5 by 6 that weighs from 1500 to 2200lbs.not those lil 4 by 5 or 4 by 6s that weigh 900 to 1300lbs.
You must not have very high expectation for hay then.
At 100/roll that size range would be 90 -120 a ton.
Seems there are plenty in TX paying that for hay.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/am_gr310.txt
Even straw is worth that much or more.
jlsmith
Veteran Member
Just wondering, how many of you actully bale hay. I know there are some on here and know what it takes and cost to do it.
bigbull338
Elite Member
you need todo some more figuring,90% of all round bales are either 4 by 5 or 4 by 6 bales for sale.an that figures to $200 a ton or more for grass hay.my cows look at 4 by 5 bales an they are gone in 2 mins.not meny people run them big 5 by 6 balers any more.
bigbull338
Elite Member
i for 1 knows what it takes an cost to bale hay.an when we baled our own hay we always ran a 5 by 6 baler.an i can tell you what it cost no matter the baler size they charge $25 a bale for baling.so you figure $25 for baling $7 to move off the field,$7 for the hay standing,thats $39 a bale.for fert hay you add $65 an ac fert.
jlsmith
Veteran Member
bigbull, what part of Tx. are you in and how many head are you running?
jlsmith
Veteran Member
Thats my point. By your own adding, $39 to bale and fert. $65 an ac and most people are only getting one bale to the ac. Thats $104 a roll you have tied up in it. Now when you sell it you have to make some kind of profit. I bale my own and mainly for my cows and sell the extra for other expenses.
bigbull338
Elite Member
we are running close to 80hd of cows calves an heifers.an we only got 1 cutting this year off 40acs.plus we had 50acs to burn while he was trying to bale it.an we are prolly 120 bales short so a bunch of the cattle will go to the sale.wich will prolly leave the reg beefmasters to have to get through the drought.
Fixed it for you. :laughing:
$25 for cutting, raking, and baling? or just baling?
If it is just baling I am moving down there.
jlsmith
Veteran Member
$25 for cutting, raking, and baling? or just baling?
If it is just baling I am moving down there.
$25 turn key. :thumbsup:
jlsmith
Veteran Member
I know what you mean. I already sold my cows this year. I would have had enough hay and grass to suport them but i ran low on water.
bigbull338
Elite Member
right now our cows are drinking 800 to 1000 gal of water a day out of the trough,plus what they drink out of a pool.
Rancher Ed
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Wow! Different parts of the country are very different. Here in western WA many people are getting a second cutting on their grass hay which NEVER happens. There is no shortage of hay around here and many people still have hay in their barns from last year or the year before.
For 4x5 800 to 900 pound bales of good cow hay that was fertilized people are charging $25-$35 per bale out of the field. You can get good high quality horse hay in 4x5 800 to 900 pound bales out of the barn for $50. This is all stuff that was baled this year, it you want older stuff you can get it cheaper. Of couse we are too far away to haul it anywhere that has a shortage.
Ed
For 4x5 800 to 900 pound bales of good cow hay that was fertilized people are charging $25-$35 per bale out of the field. You can get good high quality horse hay in 4x5 800 to 900 pound bales out of the barn for $50. This is all stuff that was baled this year, it you want older stuff you can get it cheaper. Of couse we are too far away to haul it anywhere that has a shortage.
Ed
