hiring someone to make hay

[oosik]

The other day I saw a guy baling hay with a HUGH baler. The bales were rectangular - probably 5-6 feet wide by almost 10 feet long and 6-7 feet high. They had very marked crowned tops. I'll bet each bale was at least 6-8 tons. Like to see what is used to move those bales - - -

 

[Tx Jim]

oosik
Crowned tops sounds like a hay stacker not hay baler. Hesston & JD made stackers back in the 70's-80's.

 

[square1]

I'm pretty sure that's illegal except in Nevada.

 

[oosik]

Tx Jim,

Those thumbnails are the same thing I saw him using. First time I ever saw anything like that. He was using it to put up very thick, heavy bottom land field grass.

 

[Tx Jim]

I sold one of the JD model 200 stackers back when I worked for a JD dealer.

 

[J35]

I guess I am lucky, going on the fourth year of a 50\50 split per field -- Orchard grass and clover. Small square bales.

I pick mine up by myself, and when he comes back for his I help him pick his up.

We just do the first cutting, I like to stockpile and usually don't need to feed hay till after New Years.

---------J

 

[5030]

What's a reasonable price for someone to come in and make hay for you? bales will be 1000# round don't know if 4' or 5' wide. would they normally price on a per bale price?

I bet OSU has a custom rate structure for farming ops.

I charge on the MSU custom rate schedule on custom work. Even calculates fuel usage.

 

[5030]

How much hay are we talking? 2 acres or 200 , makes a big difference

I won't bother with any custom work less than 5 acres. Too hard to turn equipment for one and just not financially worthwhile.

When I started out years ago, I cut anything, didn't matter if there were logs in the field but then I had a sickle bar mower conditioner. I own very expensive disc machines now, high end bailers and rotary rakes and I never take any job thats not mostly rectangular straight line running and is free of trash. I walk a customer's field first before I even think about pricing anything. If there is trash in there, it's see ya later...

Fot a couple acres of grief, I'd charge accordingly and probably a lot more than 55 a bale.

 

[mfreund]

The other day I saw a guy baling hay with a HUGH baler. The bales were rectangular - probably 5-6 feet wide by almost 10 feet long and 6-7 feet high. They had very marked crowned tops. I'll bet each bale was at least 6-8 tons. Like to see what is used to move those bales - - -

When I worked on a farm in the 80's he had a stack mover. It used the 3 pt to lift along with hydraulic powered wheels to lift. It had a set of tines on the bottom to lift. It was all a 4020 could do to move it. That w as for the 100 stacker. The 200 was twice as big and stacks had to be fed where they were unloaded. Too big to move.

 

[D7E]

Normally break it down

$16 - acre mowing
$12-acre raking
$6-7 per bale for baling

Some just prefer to pay $75/hour for the whole job