Hay pricing

[CDennyRun]

Doesn't really seem dishonest to me. An alternative would be to contract with the grower ahead of time as opposed to waiting for the best deal once production is done.

Yeah, we do work with him ahead of time. He's just such a flake, that he'll give our hay away if someone offers him more than what he charges us. We've been having a really hard time with this guy. Most of the other locals don't give discounts for early contracts. Just a field discount, of a buck or less.

Like I said, I know there has to be good profit in any business. Know some of these farmers, and what they do with their fields just doesn't justify $12 for grass bales. Alfalfa on the other hand, has always been expensive. Our horses don't need it, thus we don't buy it.

 

[MORRISONSTEEL]

Yeah, we do work with him ahead of time. He's just such a flake, that he'll give our hay away if someone offers him more than what he charges us. We've been having a really hard time with this guy. Most of the other locals don't give discounts for early contracts. Just a field discount, of a buck or less.

Like I said, I know there has to be good profit in any business. Know some of these farmers, and what they do with their fields just doesn't justify $12 for grass bales. Alfalfa on the other hand, has always been expensive. Our horses don't need it, thus we don't buy it.

Now....that I would consider dis-honest. One time for me on changing or selling out from under me a contracted product would be the last time I would buy.

 

[CDennyRun]

Now....that I would consider dis-honest. One time for me on changing or selling out from under me a contracted product would be the last time I would buy.

Yup! The worse part is he'll lie about it to cover his butt. I don't think he knows how close the horse community is. Ha ha

This year he brought us moldy hay from last year, and said it was this years first cuttings. We sent him back with about half of it. Trying to find a decent deal to make up for the rest has become a depressing task.

 

[MORRISONSTEEL]

That is unfortunate. In our area it is nearly impossible to find a large selection of small squares for horse feed, w/out paying the premium price. The growers and commercial operators just got away from the hassle and for the most part only build either large/med squares or round bales, but handling even a #1,300 bale can be a pain as well for many horse owners, let alone a heavy bale. You are tight though, the horse community for the most part is a fairly tight nit group of folks and the word can spread quickly. I have a friend about 100 miles s of me who produces a lot of 4' rounds. He has a large operation so there is always someone in the shop to put 1 bale in the back of a pickup for someone that they can easily push out where they want it and come back next week and get another. Its crazy how many folks will pull into their yard on a Saturday afternoon and come back year after year because he his honest about his product. Getting harder to find those folks though, good luck.

 

[1648nc]

You're just lucky there's hay to be bought over your way, it's been so dry around here til now that there's very little for sale. I'm as small as small time can get and what i made 21 rolls on in the spring made 7 rolls this fall, factor in that i've fed 8 rolls this summer while it's been dry and i'm probably gonna be in a bind this winter.
Your predicament is exactly why i bought my own used wore out equipment though. When its bad years and there's none to be bought, my small field hay(which you said you find comical) is worth alot....to me.

But after you start making your own, report back here and let everyone know how cheap you'd sell your hay after a couple breakdowns, killing yourself to get it in before rain, and paying the fertilizer bill.

 

[joeu235]

We sell about 2000 square bales of high quality horse hay a year. We set the price a couple dollars less than the local feed store. Current price is $6 in the field and $7 in the barn for 60 lb pound bales. If its a year we irrigate, diesel goes from insignificant to the largest factor

approximate cost per bale:
$1.30 -- 400 #/acre 20/10/0 fertilizer in the spring + 200#/acre 20/0/0 after each cutting
$1.30 -- equipment depreciation - two tractors, baler, cutter, rake, two flat bed trailers
$0.75 -- Pastora & Grazon herbicide
$0.75 -- Labor to pick up and stack in barn
$0.32 -- Equipment operator labor (me and dad) @ $20 / hour
$0.08 -- diesel for baling and processing
------
$4.50

 

[CDennyRun]

You're just lucky there's hay to be bought over your way, it's been so dry around here til now that there's very little for sale. I'm as small as small time can get and what i made 21 rolls on in the spring made 7 rolls this fall, factor in that i've fed 8 rolls this summer while it's been dry and i'm probably gonna be in a bind this winter.
Your predicament is exactly why i bought my own used wore out equipment though. When its bad years and there's none to be bought, my small field hay(which you said you find comical) is worth alot....to me.

But after you start making your own, report back here and let everyone know how cheap you'd sell your hay after a couple breakdowns, killing yourself to get it in before rain, and paying the fertilizer bill.

Wow, it's crazy toe hear everyone's stories about how scarce hay is. I'm really sorry you guys have to deal with that. Kinda scary really. I'd hate to see what happens if this strange weather keeps up.

Odds are I won't be fertilizing much. Most of the people around here don't, if it's just grass, and mostly for their own animals. Some do, but a lot of the time it's per the customers request. I more than likely won't be selling much either. If I do it'll be to friends and family, so breaking even and paying for the equipment is all I'll care about.

 

[MattLynch]

$2.50- 3.25 a bale is the norm here, but I have seen very good quality second cut timothy as high as $5.00. Round bales are typically $25-35 depending on quality, silage is much more available then hay. Last year was a bad year and people were short but this year is looking good, just talked to another producer who got 9 bales per acre first cut and 7 per acre second. I got around 6-7 which is a little more average. Both his and mine were baled as silage as hay is pretty hard to make here.

 

[leeave96]

Making square bales of hay is a heck of a lot of work. Capital investment, even if you're a small timer like me, can be huge and if it ain't, you're likely on your back fixing the equipment at every turn, when you aren't running to buy parts. Nobody works free, not even family members. Taxes on the sales, taxes on the profit, taxes on the equipment and land. Quality hay needs to be weed free and of a good variety. Fertilizer, herbicides, lime and seed are cost drivers. Liability insurance in case someone decides to sue.

Making quality hay isn't an exercise in charity. I laugh when people complain about the price of hay - especially when they don't have enough hot air to load their own (brand new truck), let alone make any hay themselves.

Good luck with your hay endeavor. Let us know your opinion of hay prices once you start making your own.

 

[CDennyRun]

Making square bales of hay is a heck of a lot of work. Capital investment, even if you're a small timer like me, can be huge and if it ain't, you're likely on your back fixing the equipment at every turn, when you aren't running to buy parts. Nobody works free, not even family members. Taxes on the sales, taxes on the profit, taxes on the equipment and land. Quality hay needs to be weed free and of a good variety. Fertilizer, herbicides, lime and seed are cost drivers. Liability insurance in case someone decides to sue.

Making quality hay isn't an exercise in charity. I laugh when people complain about the price of hay - especially when they don't have enough hot air to load their own (brand new truck), let alone make any hay themselves.

Good luck with your hay endeavor. Let us know your opinion of hay prices once you start making your own.

Trust me, I've learned quite a bit from this thread. I understand, and have stated in previous posts that anyone running a business has to make good profit. I'm not that selfish to think I should get my hay at cost. I've also stated that I know the cost of labor and everything else these days are much higher, and harder to find young guys to help. I've been a hand in the field for many years, and know that the farmer has a lot on his/her plate, and works their tale off. My respect for farmers of all aspects is incredibly high.

What I do know from my experience where I live is, a lot of my local small hay farmers don't fertilize, don't lime, haven't purchased more expensive equipment, and still charge $7-12 per bale in the field. The bales have weeds, bones, excessive dead mice, barbed wire, plastic bags, loose bales that explode, and frankly been dishonest about their product. A lot of the time they bring up the price of diesel, which is why I posted this thread. Please don't think I started this to just bash on hay farmers.

I know that haying my own will take a long time to pay it's self off, and will be a ton of work. At that point, I'll only have myself to blame for hay problems. I would rather that, than being pissed at someone else, and knowing I over payed for garbage hay.