How should I work out this split with my neighbor?

[petebert]

I grow about 10 acres of hay. It is not profitable. The only reason I do it, is to keep the land in ag use and tax basis. Between chemicals, fertilizer, seed, fuel and equipment any cash I make is thrown back on the land. I do get hay for my horses. The equipment is 70's vintage I use a 40 PTO hp tractor on a NH 477 haybine and a NH 310 baler. It's enough tractor to pull a wagon behind the baler. A discbine may be too much for 40 hp.

Hay making is all about timing and weather. The hardest part for me is labor to pick up the small bales. Even paying a premium, the work is hard, hot and dusty.

How will you handle and store the bales ?

Not trying to make a profit but as it stands right now I spend around $4500 a year on hay. I also don't like all the run around, finding sellers, trying to get our schedules matched up, driving, loading, hauling, unloading, stacking. I'd rather just do my own hay and not deal with hay sellers. At the price I'm spending on hay it seems buying equipment like this 273 New Holland Baler with Thrower - farm & garden - by owner - sale would pay for itself. I can borrow wagons from my neighbor or eventually buy my own. I have an elevator and stack it in my barn.

 

[petebert]

You provide the land, fertility and crop. He does the harvesting. You put half of it in your barn. Done.

That's what I was starting to think, thanks.

 

[aczlan]

Not trying to make a profit but as it stands right now I spend around $4500 a year on hay. I also don't like all the run around, finding sellers, trying to get our schedules matched up, driving, loading, hauling, unloading, stacking. I'd rather just do my own hay and not deal with hay sellers. At the price I'm spending on hay it seems buying equipment like this 273 New Holland Baler with Thrower - farm & garden - by owner - sale would pay for itself. I can borrow wagons from my neighbor or eventually buy my own. I have an elevator and stack it in my barn.

I would look carefully to make sure that they didn't hide anything that you don't want underneath the shiny new paint, but otherwise that looks like a very nice baler. We have the same model with the same belt kicker on it and it has served us well for quite a while (over 10 years).
Be forewarned, that if you bale on the side of a hill, it will kick the bales to the downhill side only.

Aaron Z

 

[petebert]

Oh yeah, I've been keeping my eye on the used baler market for a couple years now. You see a lot of stuff for sale on craigslist with new paintjobs. Always funny when they paint it and immediately take a picture so you can still see the spray paint on the grass.

With that one I posted above you have to wonder, why take it to the dealer and then sell it?

 

[ovrszd]

I grew up on a dairy farm and we baled a lot of hay and straw on neighbors. It was our equipment & labor for half the bales. And since they didn't want any of it we just paid them current market price for their half of it. At least that is how it was in the 70's- 90's.

David

And that's still how it's done in Missouri.

As to the discing, Steve's chart might give you an idea.

Probably if you offer him the hay as described by David he'll donate the discing.

 

[Btown]

Not trying to make a profit but as it stands right now I spend around $4500 a year on hay. I also don't like all the run around, finding sellers, trying to get our schedules matched up, driving, loading, hauling, unloading, stacking. I'd rather just do my own hay and not deal with hay sellers. At the price I'm spending on hay it seems buying equipment like this 273 New Holland Baler with Thrower - farm & garden - by owner - sale would pay for itself. I can borrow wagons from my neighbor or eventually buy my own. I have an elevator and stack it in my barn.

I agree with you doing your own. It can be a pain to schedule to pick up hay, plus the handling of it. I know lots of people will say it will never pay off. But you are in 100% control of your hay, you will know the quality and not subject to unreal increases in hay prices due to fuel price increase that never goes down even when fuel prices drop back down lower than they were before. You are lucky even if you buy something and it breaks you have a neighbor who can help you out in a pinch to say your hay. If you try it and find out it is too much work, you can sell you equipment and recoup most of your costs.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

It all depends on local supply and demand. Around here, the landowner usually gets nothing. According to the census 60% of the agricultural land in town is not used for any productive purpose. We have an abundance of land and few people to work it, people are glad just to get their field mowed for free to keep the weeds from taking over.

 

[augerin]

It all depends on local supply and demand. Around here, the landowner usually gets nothing. According to the census 60% of the agricultural land in town is not used for any productive purpose. We have an abundance of land and few people to work it, people are glad just to get their field mowed for free to keep the weeds from taking over.

Here, I can lease land for $1 an acre. I then go to the county extension office and let them know which parcels I'm farming. The owner gets the tax cut for ag.use.

I would be ok with 50/50 if I don't have to take them off the field. For square bales, everytime we touch them it goes up $1 per. We do mostly rounds now, even some of our smaller horse people are using them. Keep it dry and off the ground, very little goes to waste. I stack some behind the horse barn and peel the layers off to feed indoors.

 

[CobyRupert]

...I can borrow wagons from my neighbor or eventually buy my own....

Sure you can borrow them, no problem, most farmers don't even use their hay wagons 49 weeks a year! Use them then. - A sure fix to those hay supplier scheduling problems.

 

[ovrszd]

Just me personally here.

I would never consider borrowing my neighbor's equipment to save me from having to buy the product, regardless what that product was. If I will ultimately have to buy the product then I would offer my neighbor the option of share cropping first.