Hay Farmers getting out of farming

[OzarkChris]

Anyone seeing this at an increasing rate?
CL ads everywhere around here with farmers selling out/retiring, etc.
Seems like this sunami of high input prices (fuel, fertilizer, et al) may be the final nail?
Talked to a buddy last week running 1600 acres of hay in a neighboring state and he said “I’m done”
He has already sold his Magnums and self propelleds

'Round here the "hay farmers" pretty much only do hay for themselves. Although beef prices are up @ stores, for the farmer/rancher it isn't keeping up with prices for fertilizer, lime, minerals, drugs, etc. Many of the farms 'round here are also growing chickens. Three houses (@ $1-1.5M) on a 15 - 20 yr contract w/processor - we have a few different ones locally. 12,800-13K per house (broiler or pullet - ~5k for roo's). Around two houses pay overhead, mortgage & labor, third house pretty much profit.

One aspect that works well is the litter that you get a couple times a year. Except for fuel & spreader/tractor maintenance, pretty much free fertilizer for the grass/hay fields. Still need lime & a bit of replanting 'round here but that isn't too bad, yet.

 

[OzarkChris]

I have about 15 acres of grass and can't find anybody reliable to cut and bale it, not even when I tell them they can take the hay for free. I literally can't give it away.

Diesel/maintenance is to high for such a small amount and (not knowing your field) the grass and/or field conditions might not be what they want

 

[sea2summit]

I have about 15 acres of grass and can't find anybody reliable to cut and bale it, not even when I tell them they can take the hay for free. I literally can't give it away.

Tractor and cutter, 10 miles or roading each way, $15 fuel, $50 maint/depreciation
Rake and baler towed by truck, 10 miles each way, $20 fuel, $2 maint/depreciation
Driving back and forth to this field 10 miles a minimum of four times to mow, rake, check, bale. $25, $2 maint/depreciation
Cutting 4 acres and hour, 3.5 hrs, $40 fuel, $85maint/depreciation
Rake 3 hrs, $30 fuel, $150 maint/depreciation
Hopefully you don't have to ted, or rake a second time.
Bale small squares of unfertilized hay 40 bales/acre, 8 hrs, $80 Fuel, $30 twine, $200 maint/depreciation
40 bales/acre x 15 acres, 600 bales, four trips with the hay trailer, $40 Fuel, $4 maint/dereciation.
Driving around the field loading hay 6 bales/minute for 600 bales is 10 hrs, unlaoding/stacking 10 hrs. Truck $25 fuel, $5 maint/depreciation
Total time if nothing goes wrong: 62 hrs (two guys to load hay, one drives one loads)
Total cost: $275 fuel, $773 maint/depreciation, $30 twine for a total of $1,078

Value of unfertilized hay $4/bale, 600 bales, that's $2400.

Minus expenses that leaves $1,322 for a minimum split between two guys is ~$675for about ~31 hrs of hard hot work (and it probably took a week to do, you can't just knock it all out in three days because hay hast to dry etc)...and nothing went wrong (something always goes wrong). Now you have to store that hay, find a buyer, buyer wants to haggle on the expensive hay prices and complain about the quality.

All that to say there's just not much money in a random 15 acre field. Now if you develop a relationship with a hay guy and get that field properly maintained or planted with preferred varieties of hay rather than the random grass that was there you'll probably have better luck getting someone to cut it for you.

 

[sree251]

I have about 15 acres of grass and can't find anybody reliable to cut and bale it, not even when I tell them they can take the hay for free. I literally can't give it away.

Are you saying you are trying to get someone to mow your lawn for free?

 

[51allis]

I used to cut hay on small 7 acres of 20 but stopped due to building a home, however, each year that I cut hay prior to that, I sold out all my hay as soon as it was cut n baled. I made smaller bales, usually about 500 +/- bales a year, 45# bales I believe and most of the people who bought LOVED the smaller bales for easy lifting. Quite a few customers were women with horses that didn't want big bales or round bales. I have an New Idea sickle mower, old rake, NH 68 baler, real old equipment but taken care of and they do the job. Was getting top dollar for my hay and plan to go back to hay again just for myself to get a few animals for feedstock, will even increase the hay field size to 16 acres. The money I made making/selling hay paid for my property taxes and then some.

 

[MHarryE]

My retirement income means I don't rely on my hay sales. Last year we suffered through a severe drought so my production was down but prices were high for my area and I ended up with more gross sales in hay and straw than I did the previous year. I wish I could get the $8 per 50# small square bale some have talked about. I got $5 to $7 this year depending on cutting, RFV. I also helped chop haylage for my nephew (dairy herd). We covered double the acres for less crop but high RFV. Fortunately for him the grain prices are high so the grain we sell pays for hay he needs to have shipped in to make up for the shortage.

 

[OzarkChris]

Tractor and cutter, 10 miles or roading each way, $15 fuel, $50 maint/depreciation
Rake and baler towed by truck, 10 miles each way, $20 fuel, $2 maint/depreciation
Driving back and forth to this field 10 miles a minimum of four times to mow, rake, check, bale. $25, $2 maint/depreciation
Cutting 4 acres and hour, 3.5 hrs, $40 fuel, $85maint/depreciation
Rake 3 hrs, $30 fuel, $150 maint/depreciation
Hopefully you don't have to ted, or rake a second time.
Bale small squares of unfertilized hay 40 bales/acre, 8 hrs, $80 Fuel, $30 twine, $200 maint/depreciation
40 bales/acre x 15 acres, 600 bales, four trips with the hay trailer, $40 Fuel, $4 maint/dereciation.
Driving around the field loading hay 6 bales/minute for 600 bales is 10 hrs, unlaoding/stacking 10 hrs. Truck $25 fuel, $5 maint/depreciation
Total time if nothing goes wrong: 62 hrs (two guys to load hay, one drives one loads)
Total cost: $275 fuel, $773 maint/depreciation, $30 twine for a total of $1,078

Value of unfertilized hay $4/bale, 600 bales, that's $2400.

Minus expenses that leaves $1,322 for a minimum split between two guys is ~$675for about ~31 hrs of hard hot work (and it probably took a week to do, you can't just knock it all out in three days because hay hast to dry etc)...and nothing went wrong (something always goes wrong). Now you have to store that hay, find a buyer, buyer wants to haggle on the expensive hay prices and complain about the quality.

All that to say there's just not much money in a random 15 acre field. Now if you develop a relationship with a hay guy and get that field properly maintained or planted with preferred varieties of hay rather than the random grass that was there you'll probably have better luck getting someone to cut it for you.

Wow, you have some speedy folks loading for ya. Takes me more than a minute to walk from one bale to the next

 

[MossyDell]

Making hay is far more costly than most realize. It includes labor, which is undervalued in farming, and replacing what hay takes from the land. I farmed part-time for 15 years and know it's tough to break even.

My eyes were opened when I took soil tests on our new home place. Where the land was hayed, the soil was low in phosphorus and potassium. The "farmer" who'd lived there was an excavator who farmed on the side and was a serial land abuser. But not replacing the nutrients that hay had removed, by fertilizer or by feeding hay back on the ground, was common. Then folks said a place was hayed out. Broom sedge moved in.

It took me a while to get my soils balanced. As I was a grazier, I focused on growing young, tender, rich grass. I bought more hay than made it. But it's hard to buy good hay, or was where I farmed in SE OH. A lot was being made and sold that had low feed value.

 

[shooterdon]

Sad to hear farmers having a tough time of it. It will hurt this country.

 

[MossRoad]

I know nothing about hay, other than the older I get, the heavier it gets.

Who's the primary consumer of hay?