So dry ... Cut, rake & bale

   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #41  
yes yall are right theres going tobe alot of hay sellers getting rich selling any kind of hay.but what if the shoe was on the other foot,would yall pay that $100 a bale hay.i know a guy that sells hay thats 3yrs or old stored outside forv $65 a bale,an 5yr old or older barn stored hay for $75 or more.

If you need hay and 100 is the going rate............
 
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #42  
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.
 
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #44  
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.
 
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #46  
And that's saying something with $7 corn.

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.
 
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #47  
What is yor idea of a roll anyway?

Size/weight?

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.
 
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #48  
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #49  
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.
 
   / So dry ... Cut, rake & bale #50  
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.

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.
 
 
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