Hay Making on a Different Scale

[Tx Jim]

It amazes me due to the prices that calves sold off cows bring at auctions the large number of bred cows that are for sale. I'll keep my small herd of cows & sell the calves.

 

[Gregster613]

I woke up Saturday morning & looked out my window to see my 4 year old Brangus herd bull was dead. I think he died from congestive heart failure. I think he would have weighed some where close to 2200#s. Put that weight into your calculator @ $1.80+ per #. I had planned to sell him along with some calves on Monday Oct 27. Oh well one snoozes & loses!!!

I just read this! What a bummer Tx Jim! Sorry to hear about your abrupt loss (of animal & $). Hopefully you'll find a decent priced replacement quickly.

 

[Tx Jim]

Thank you.

 

[LHF2019]

I think we are done. Maybe in November I'll change my mind but the weather pattern is shifting so expecting rain to continue in near future. Just not much growth out there still. The worst thing though that can happen is we get enough rain to cancel out the Sept/Oct Rain insurance. That would hit me hard.

Bought our 2nd load of hay to feed our animals yesterday.

Officially done. Never made more. Bought a third load of hay to feed my cattle. I will get pictures of the bales. There is just no comparison between my 4x4 and what he calls 4x4. I sell my 1st cutting for $50 and buying his "2nd cutting" for $30. He calls it 2nd cutting but I would use that term very loosely. No tension whatsoever to the bales except in the center. I can stick my arm in the ends. Based on what I see he makes a windrow then just bales straight. No weaving.

Got enough rain to cancel the Sept/Oct. PRF insurance payment. This will be our worst year since transitioning to this type of venture in 2015.

 

[Hay Dude]

You might have been better off driving 5 hours to me and picking up my 1,800LB blocks I sold as cattle grade for $140.
I have been eyeing-up some of my early 2nd cutting fields thinking they could actually yield some minimal hay. Then when I think of the work involved in getting everything back out to bale, I’m like “nah….not worth it”.

 

[LHF2019]

You might have been better off driving 5 hours to me and. picking up my 1,800LB blocks I sold as cattle grade for $140.
I have been eyeing-up some of my early 2nd cutting fields thinking they could actually yield some minimal hay. Then when I think of the work involved in getting everything back out to bale, I’m like “nah….not worth it”.

I have a field if we had 7 days of clear weather I might just do it. But at this point loosing ambition fast.

It is interesting to buy someone else's hay. We always claim to make a nice bale but when you actually see some of the examples it's pathetic what people sell. He has no storage so he wraps them in plastic. First load I purchased was "2nd" from 2024. Very bad. One I even squeezed the water out of it with the grapple. The 2025's just has one spot that isn't bad yet.

I usually get reports from my driver who purchases hay and he hasn't been able to find anything comparable to mine. He buys from me when I have enough and we supplement his pay with squares. His report is usually they are loaded with weeds, mud, no tension and can stick his arm in the ends. With the squares when he goes to horse shows my bales are twice as big. He will find people that are paying more for 2 square bales for the same amount of hay as 1 of mine and they think they are getting a deal. All they can comprehend is 1 bale less money than 1 bale of my hay. All about price in this area and cheap wins not common sense.

 

[Hay Dude]

I would never claim my hay was “perfect” or “great”, then I’d start relaxing and making average hay. haha
I totally agree with what you are saying about the competition. Just when I want to get angry about my hay quality, I see other farmers bales and I think to myself, on average, I am better than most.
I have some truly funny stories about some hay buyers.

 

[LHF2019]

Officially done. Never made more. Bought a third load of hay to feed my cattle. I will get pictures of the bales. There is just no comparison between my 4x4 and what he calls 4x4. I sell my 1st cutting for $50 and buying his "2nd cutting" for $30. He calls it 2nd cutting but I would use that term very loosely. No tension whatsoever to the bales except in the center. I can stick my arm in the ends. Based on what I see he makes a windrow then just bales straight. No weaving.

Got enough rain to cancel the Sept/Oct. PRF insurance payment. This will be our worst year since transitioning to this type of venture in 2015.

Need to make a correction. I'm buying 2025 1st cutting. Went through and looked at ads this weekend and realized my mistake.

Also found some of these ads interesting.

Hello, you are looking at 1st cutting 2025 Hay for sale. These are 4x4 rounds that weight approximately 900 lbs. The hay is mixed with mostly birds foot, clover, timothy, buffalo grass, etc. This hay was baled dry and immediately put inside. It is currently pyramid stacked and stored in a building. I am asking $35.00 per round. I am capable of loading the hay on your trailer. If you have any questions or would like to make an arrangement to look at/ purchase some hay don't hesitate to contact me


See something wrong with this ads write up? Close enough I would be tempted go buy a bale and call him out on them.



And the other one that stood out to me.

Horse approved mixed grass hay. Contains a mix of clover, timothy, trefoil, and other grasses.
You pay according to the load size.
Small squares:
1 to 24 bales at $2.75 each.
25 to 49 bales at $2.50 each.
50 or more at $2.25 each.
Tight packed 4' x 5' round bales stored inside.
Loads of 1 bale for $30 each.
Loads of 2 bales for $25 each.
Loads of 3 or more bales at $20 each.
Late baled outdoor round bales, $15 each.
Prices subject to change at any time. Pickup only at this time. We can load any size trailer with round bales.

Our Story: For over 100 years our family ran a dairy farm in southern Steuben county. In 1986 we sold the dairy cows and transitioned into a small beef production. Starting that year we sold any excess hay we had. In 2003 we decided to exit the beef market and concentrate on selling hay. We are one of the largest producers of small square bales in southern Steuben county. Most of our customers feed horses however our hay also feeds many other types of animals. We try to balance quality with price. Come see how we can help you nourish your animals.



The type of hay supposedly being offered tells me the fields seem to be maintained to some degree but the prices.....must be doing it for fun. Not close enough for me to purchase from if I wanted to.

4 x 4 round bale hay. Stored inside, net wrapped.


for $30 and if I need hay next spring, if still available I would consider. The best representation of a 4x4 I've seen and stored inside.

 

[Hay Dude]

Need to make a correction. I'm buying 2025 1st cutting. Went through and looked at ads this weekend and realized my mistake.

Also found some of these ads interesting.

View attachment 4417991View attachment 4417992

Hello, you are looking at 1st cutting 2025 Hay for sale. These are 4x4 rounds that weight approximately 900 lbs. The hay is mixed with mostly birds foot, clover, timothy, buffalo grass, etc. This hay was baled dry and immediately put inside. It is currently pyramid stacked and stored in a building. I am asking $35.00 per round. I am capable of loading the hay on your trailer. If you have any questions or would like to make an arrangement to look at/ purchase some hay don't hesitate to contact me


See something wrong with this ads write up? Close enough I would be tempted go buy a bale and call him out on them.

It’s rare to see a 4x4 round bale weigh 900lbs. Most 4x5’s barely weigh 900lbs.
$35 is selling at a terrible loss. I remember when I thought I was losing money on 4x5 round bales if they were less than $75.

And the other one that stood out to me.

View attachment 4417995

Horse approved mixed grass hay. Contains a mix of clover, timothy, trefoil, and other grasses.
You pay according to the load size.
Small squares:
1 to 24 bales at $2.75 each.
25 to 49 bales at $2.50 each.
50 or more at $2.25 each.
Tight packed 4' x 5' round bales stored inside.
Loads of 1 bale for $30 each.
Loads of 2 bales for $25 each.
Loads of 3 or more bales at $20 each.
Late baled outdoor round bales, $15 each.
Prices subject to change at any time. Pickup only at this time. We can load any size trailer with round bales.

Our Story: For over 100 years our family ran a dairy farm in southern Steuben county. In 1986 we sold the dairy cows and transitioned into a small beef production. Starting that year we sold any excess hay we had. In 2003 we decided to exit the beef market and concentrate on selling hay. We are one of the largest producers of small square bales in southern Steuben county. Most of our customers feed horses however our hay also feeds many other types of animals. We try to balance quality with price. Come see how we can help you nourish your animals.

Again, shockingly low prices. Those would be our prices in the 1980’s & 90’s. Round bales selling for $20 bucks? Are you kidding me?

The type of hay supposedly being offered tells me the fields seem to be maintained to some degree but the prices.....must be doing it for fun. Not close enough for me to purchase from if I wanted to.



View attachment 4417994

4 x 4 round bale hay. Stored inside, net wrapped.


for $30 and if I need hay next spring, if still available I would consider. The best representation of a 4x4 I've seen and stored inside.

 

[Tx Jim]

Unless mix of clover, timothy, trefoil packs a lot tighter than Coastal Bermuda I'm doubtful 4X4 rd bale will weigh 900#s. Due to my many experiences from having custom round baled hay for for 36 yrs I'll bet those 4X4 grass rd bales if moisture is below 16-18% will struggle to weigh 800#s. I think most 4X5 grass rd bales struggle to get much over 900-950#s if moisture is below 16-18%. One things for sure a certified scale would reveal the actual weight of the bales.

I decided I'm not going to fertilize & bale hay next yr for 1st time in 38 yrs & I purchased 111 bales of 4X5.5 fert/weed controlled Bermuda grass for $30 per bale and for some fertilized small stem Sudan/haygrazer for $20 per 4X5 bale delivered to my place. The hay owner just wanted the rd bales gone before the end of the year. The price I paid was his price not my idea.