hiring someone to make hay

buckeyefarmer · Jul 14, 2014

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?

KiotiKowboy · Jul 14, 2014

Very common practice - at least for me

I make great hay but don't need it for myself. Instead, I sell the cut.

Someone brings in their own equipment, provides all the labor and hauls off the bales. Normally, I do this on a 2:1 basis. The cutter gets 2 and buys 1. Sometimes, I use a 60:40 split. My price is generally just below the local market.

The first cut this year was 201 5x5.5 round bales. He paid me for 67 bales @ $45.

I find this a great way to keep beautiful pastures, as the hay proceeds go back into care of the property.

DT86 · Jul 14, 2014

Around here, depending on the quality and density of forage, it will be 1/2 to 2/3 of the cost of a roll if you had bought it from else where.

buckeyefarmer · Jul 14, 2014

I'm thinking 1/2 is fair. That's what we used to do years ago when we baled for others. Thanks.

mjcountrybumpkin · Jul 14, 2014

If it is REALLY good hay half may be fair but otherwise expect 2/3 split. Tractors and diesel just ain't as cheap as they once was.

oosik · Jul 15, 2014

Most hay here is grass hay and the split is 50:50. Hay is, this week, $220 to $285/ton dependent upon type, quality and configuration.

bigbull338 · Jul 15, 2014

ok yall are talking 2 differant ways to get your hay baled.around here people no longer bale on the halves as it cost to much to go in and do it from start to finish.most here want to do it on the 60/40 or 70/30 if your lucky.around here custom balers charge $25 a bale for 4 by 5s and 4 by 6s.plus here most charge a 3 bale to ac min.in other words if they bale 10acs and it makes 2 4 by 6 bales to the ac.then they are still paying the $75ac min or $750.

buckeyefarmer · Jul 15, 2014

The guy is quoting us $55 per bale. This is for my dad who was in the hospital and couldn't get all his hay in yet. The weather hasn't been cooperating, but he wants to get someone who can get it done fast. i live 6 hrs away, so it's not always possible to get there when the hay is ready to put in. I'm looking at used round balers now but time is not on my side.

mjcountrybumpkin · Jul 15, 2014

That is quite possibly the most insane price I've ever heard from anywhere. In less by chance he's bailing big squares. 3'x3'8' or something like that.

mjcountrybumpkin · Jul 15, 2014

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

oosik · Jul 15, 2014

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 · Jul 16, 2014

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

square1 · Jul 16, 2014

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

oosik · Jul 16, 2014

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 · Jul 16, 2014

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

J35 · Jul 16, 2014

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 · Jul 26, 2014

buckeyefarmer said:
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 · Jul 26, 2014

mjcountrybumpkin said:
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 · Jul 27, 2014

oosik said:
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.