Hay bailing for profit??

[Mickey_Fx]

Conditions can vary so much it is hard for anyone to tell you if you can be profitable.

I had a small custom haying business several decades ago so info isn't current by any meens.

Old equip can be expensive on the business. Can't make hay or money if equip is down for repairs.

Have no idea what conditions are like you your area. Is weather an issue during early haying season? What kind of yield can you expect? Takes almost as much time and effort to do a low yield field as it does a high yield one. Maybe ever more depending upon situation. Around here typ 1st cutting grass yield was 4T/acre. Can make money on that yield but if it was 1T/acre, not likely. Yield and weather conditions will also dictate kind of eqiupment needed. Around here it would be foolish not to use mower/conditioner. Tedder also was very desireable. Typ side delivery rake will rope long grass and make drying harder.

Round bails are slowly coming this way. Back when I was in the business small sq bails were typ but we did have large sq bails that tiped the scale as heavy as the large round bails.

I use a MF165D, 55 HP and wasn't too much tractor for what I was doing with it. Was able to spit out ~55# bails ever 10 sec if the field was heavy and consistant density. Have seen commercial business putting up timithy and was using a 125 HP tractor to handle the work load.

Don't get caught with more grass down than you can handle IF the weather takes a turn.

IMO best chance for profit is look for nitch market, like hobby farmers.

 

[scesnick]

Just a quick note on this subject. You have to remember that you will also need a nice dry place to store your hay even if is juust for a few days.

 

[KYErik]

I sell about 400-600 square bales every year with only me or the customer picking them up out of the field (my wife drives the tractor that pulls the wagons when I have to pick them up). I give a 15% discount if the customer picks the hay up out of the field themselves and that usually only makes me pick up about half of the bales I sell. I figured my cutting, raking and baling fuel cost and sisal twine cost add up to no more 50 cents a bale. But I use a 45 year old 25 hp gas tractor, sickle mower, side delivery rake and an old New Holland Model 68 baler. That expense does not include fertilizer cost or the cost of reseeding.

As mentioned, the biggest problems are:

1. Timing- Working around the weather while trying to cut at the right maturity stage so that you have a quality product. Trying to squeeze in the hay business around a full time job and sometimes having to work on sundays because the hay didn't dry enough on satuday to bale it then and rain is coming on Monday...
2. Finding buyers. If you aren't selling it, you will eventually run out of storage space. This happened to me late last summer and when I saw that I couldn't store it, I left about 5 acres of cut hay in the field to rot over the winter. I wish I would have invested in some tarps bacuase I would have come out ahead selling now during the shortage.

I have never sold any wet hay, that will get rid of you buyers fast when someone's hay barn burns with hay they bought from you inside or they see mold in their bales when they feed them. I always bale a little on the dry side to be safe.

You said you have access to 200 acres- do you own it or know the person who owns it? If so, I like the idea of letting someone else bale it for a year so you can see all the work involved and also you can see what it produces. In this area, a landowner can get up to one third of the hay baled off their property left in the field by the sharecropper (I have this arrangement for hay rolls for my cows since I don't own a round baler). You could sell your third of the bales and see how it goes. This would also reduce your risk somewhat (unless they are square bales and you can't find help picking them up before it rains!).

 

[floridahay]

I have been growing Coastal Bermuda hay for the last 27 years for the horse market and some people who have cattle. In my area the cattle market has about dissappeared. I can tell you some things to consider before you get into the hay business. What kind of grass do you have? In the south the hybrid Bermudas are considered about the best for hay, with Coastal being the oldest variety and the most common. If you plan to put up square bales you will need a lot of storage space. I sell some out of the field during the summer but you cannot depend on the people always showing up to get the hay when it is baled. With 200 acres you will need good equipment that is reliable. As far as yield goes on 200 acres you can figure on conservately about 50,000 bales for the year. This figures about 80 bales per acre for three cuttings. Many times you can get 4 cuttings if you have adequate rainfall and can get the hay harvested on schedule. As far as fertilizer costs go I can give you some rough estimates. I put out about 350-400 lbs. per acre of 21-7-14 after each cutting. At current prices of about 335 a ton this will give you an estimate of fertilize costs. This analysis fits closely what the bermudas will need in most soils. You need to check the soil for PH to see if it needs lime and what the other elements are also. With the high rates of Nitrogen that you have to use the soil will most likely need to be limed about every other year to keep the Ph about 6.0 to 6.5. You will need to see if you market will be for square bales or round bales. I now sell about 75% round bales to 25% square bales. This has changed in my area in the last 5 or 6 years. It used to be just the opposite! I have also found that the 4x4 round bales are the most popular too. The people can haul them in small pickups or small trailers and they can be moved by compact tractors too.
You can forget about the 200 acres being a part time job too. This will be a full time job for two people, believe me. One piece of equipment that I would not be without is a hay tedder. They will speed the curing and will be invaluable in drying hay that has gotten rained on. THese are some of the things that may help you decide on the hay business. If you have any questions please ask I will be glad to help in any way I can. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Sberry]

Take a couple of years just to figure out the timing, at least, maybe more, if it was easy I would do it.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

To grow premium quality hay takes more than just a little equipment. It takes know-how, LUCK, proper equipment, more luck, a storage building, along with a healthy dose of luck, and a sizable cash investment. And that's no guarantee.

Something else to ponder..... If there was/is a wide-spread hay shortage in your area, caused by poor growing conditions, why would your luck growing it have been any different than the experienced growers already in your area? Or would you still need to buy your winters hay, AFTER spending your budget on hay equipment and crop "inputs" during a "bad year"?

40HP would be marginal at best with most balers. (and not nearly enough for many) One that's properly adjusted and with an experienced operator can bale with the best of 'em. But when trying to overcome a slow start on the learning curve, you'll struggle with "marginal equipment". Sickle bar mowers got the job done for ages, but a LOT of hay was lost to weather while waiting an extra day or two while the crop dried. A mower/conditioner will take time off the risk period from cutting to "in the barn".

Also, you need to learn the technical end of haying. What's it take to get hay with a high nutritional value. How do you tell when moisture level is just right? (You don't want mold, OR a barn fire) When is it ready to cut?

I raised my own hay for 35 years to feed anywhere from 5 to 20 cows a year. Back when I started, you could by the equipment and grow your own far cheaper than buying hay. That may not be true today for anyone doing this on a small scale. It's simply cheaper to let someone else invest in equipment, struggle with weather, fight with high priced labor, just to have a crop rained on the night before you plan on baling.

In the end, you MAY make a few bucks. Probably less than if you spent the same amount of time working the drive-up window at McDonalds. (No Happy Meal either )

Yep! If it was easy, EVERYONE would be baling hay.

Personally, if I had access to 200 acres of "bale-able" hay land, I'd look for someone to bale it on shares, let them do the work, and you take your "share" to the barn. Less investment, less hard work, less risk, and you get your hay for nothing.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Hi there Greg, you have helped me out with the 6.0 so I will tell you what I have learned so far.

I started my hay venture up a few years ago. I had a TN65 which is a little bigger then what your friend has. When I started I was lucky to have the help of a long time dairy farmer as well as a few other hay farmers. One was getting out of the business and ended up referring his customers to me which was a huge help. Also, his daughter works for me during haying and can run any and all of my equipment (some better then I can). Without the help of these friends I would never have even thought of starting a hay business. I am still learning every year and am lucky to have people to turn to when I need advice or have questions. All areas are different so having someone who knows haying in your area is more important then anything if you are a new to baling hay.

As for equipment. 1-2 tractors is a pain. A 40 horse tractor is too small for 200 acres. A 50 horse tractor is too small for 200 acres. Ideally you will have a 90-100 horse tractor along with a 40-50 horse and a small raking/tedding tractor. To cut 200 acres you will want to go with a discbine which will take some horses to run efficiently. Also, putting that much hay up you will want a good high capacity baler which also likes the horses. The first year I ran with just my TN65 and Ford 640. The TN65 was undersized and underpowered to run the baler efficiently. When I upgraded to the discbine the next year the TN could run it but I was pushing the TN as hard as I could. I ended up buying the Ford 7710-II and that made baling so much more fun as the tractor had the weight and hp to handle this equipment with ease. Even with the added tractors it was a lot of work for one or two people to cut 170 acres so I cut back to around 100 acres give or take and it is still a lot of work for the amount of equipment I have.

I am fortunate to be able to put all most all my hay up in customers barns right out of the field. So I usually only have to put up 1500-2500 bales each year and I rent a barn to store it in. The barn I rent is cheap and has great access for loading and unloading wagons and trailers. The cost of building a decent size barn to store hay in is going to cost around $20k easily as I want to build it big enough to handle all the hay I put up in one year if I needed to store it all for what ever reason. The barn I rent is too small to do that but it is good enough to get me by right now until I pay off the equipment and can afford to build the barn. I am fortunate to be able to store hay in wagons in a friends warehouse also if rain is coming before I can unload or if I need to store the wagons for a few days until the customers are ready to unload them. So if you do decide to build a barn for hay storage make sure you build it big enough to pull what ever size equipment you PLAN to have inside. I would like to go automated with a NH bale wagon so I have to plan my barn with doors and ceiling height high enough to accommodate the NH bale wagons.

Buy the best equipment you can for haying as you can't afford break downs if you are commited to customers to supply them with hay. My baler cost $11,500 used but it was in great shape. Kicker wagons if you go that route are $2500-$4k for good ones with good gears under them. A good discbine will set you back around $9k for a used one but make sure you have someone who knows them look it over first as they are very expensive to rebuild. Rakes are not too bad but it depends on what you are looking for. A large twin basket rotary which would be ideal for that much acerage will set you back $6k-$10k. A side deliver bar rake will cost around $2500 and I have no idea what a wheel rake will cost or if you will even want one. Tedders can be found for between $1500 and $4k for a four star/basket depending on used or new. And used 2wd tractors in the 90hp range with cabs are roughly $15k for a late 80's early 90's unit in good shape. You know motors and I am sure you know what to look for in used tractors.

After you figure out how much it is going to cost to get started you will have to figure out how much hay you might have to sell, the quality of the hay and what the market price might be.

If you have a good day job keep it and forget about haying. My friend whos daughter helps me during the summer gave up haying after doing it for a lot of years because he finally realized it cost him more money to take off from work and put up hay. He made a lot more money working his day job and didn't have any hassels of trying to arrange vacation time and hope the weather cooperated.

Haying can be a lot of fun but it can also be a huge headache and a major time and money drain. If you have young kids you won't get to see them a lot during the summer because you will be married to the field trying to get the hay put up and when you do get a break you will be too tired to want to do much of anything. This is my main regret about haying as I miss out on a lot of quality time with my daughter and knowing what I know now I would never have started up in the first place. But I am stubborn and will keep going at it for a couple more years and see how things sit then.

The guys who make money at haying are the guys who already have the equipment and experience. Good luck to you with whatever you decide but remember, it is hard to find good help so think first about how you are going to handle all these bales.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

In the end, you MAY make a few bucks. Probably less than if you spent the same amount of time working the drive-up window at McDonalds. (No Happy Meal either )

Sadly this is very true unless you have a great market and perfect hay weather.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Sadly this is very true unless you have a great market and perfect hay weather.

Hayin' for profit is more or less a suplimental income for farmers who already own the equipment for their own use. Seems to me farming in general is a bunch of "part-time jobs" linked by their need to have several other "part-time jobs" to add up to a real income. I tried grain farming. I made 3 months income in a year. (relative to a "real job" income) I added some beef cattle. That added (in good years) another months income in 12 months time. Tobacco crop did me well for a few years. Maybe 3 months worth of income over 12 months. Hay business added a few weeks to the income total. In the end, I'd work all day at my job, come home and farm weekend and nights. After 35 years, I had about what I'd expect from my job and a fairly valuable piece of ground that was paid off in 25 years. That's what farming is all about. Struggle your entire life to make payments, stay in debt up to your ears, and die someday with an estate value far beyond your wildest dreams so the rest of the family can fight over it.

And my wife says I'm cynical.

 

[HGM]

Awesome info guys, I really appreciate it and knew you'd come through.. It does sound like more than I want to get into. I'll follw your advise and research a bit locally as well..