Putting up own hay vs contracting out

[zzvyb6]

I'm just east of you in Brighton. You are all welcome to stop by my place and see for yourselves the fields, the tractor, the hay equipment, the horses and the reality of doing your own hay. I've been doing it for 25 years. Started out with borrowed equipment, then a 22 hp Yanmar, then and now with a 35 hp tractor. The only concern you will have is how to get bales into the hay loft. That's the labor issue.

Give me a private message and I will reply with a phone number and a location. The cost your hay this year, would have paid for good equipment. And you have D&G (John Deere) equipment dealer right there in towm !

 

[dhawken]

I'm just east of you in Brighton. You are all welcome to stop by my place and see for yourselves the fields, the tractor, the hay equipment, the horses and the reality of doing your own hay. I've been doing it for 25 years. Started out with borrowed equipment, then a 22 hp Yanmar, then and now with a 35 hp tractor. The only concern you will have is how to get bales into the hay loft. That's the labor issue.

Give me a private message and I will reply with a phone number and a location. The cost your hay this year, would have paid for good equipment. And you have D&G (John Deere) equipment dealer right there in towm !

Thank you sir! I may take you up on that. We're in a fairly good spot here dealer wise - there's a Kioti place about 15 mins north, Mahindra/MF bout 20 minutes east, Kubota bout 15 minutes west, and then D&Gs in town there for JD. Tough call sometimes. We just about pulled the trigger on a Kioti in June with their free loader promotion but managed to resist the urge Our labor issues are covered by the kids so far, but that could change I suppose. 2nd cutting this year we just backed the wagon right in the barn and dumped it and stacked it, so wasn't too bad. No loft for us, just a pole barn and hay stacked on wood pallets so far.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I understand your frustration and don't blame you really but from reading your first post on this thread I also can see you understand the entire situation. It sucks but it is the situation your in unless you buy your own equipment. I do not do any custom baling just because of this reason, I work hard to get my hay done and depending on weather some years I don't even finish my first cutting before the hay is not worth baling. The last thing I want is a customer calling me everyday asking when I am going to cut their fields. Hay season is very stressful and there is no way I want to add any more stress then what comes naturally with the business.

If you can afford the equipment and have the time I would recommend you go for it. Haying is very fun (well for me it is) and when you have your own equipment you can control every input of the baling process so you don't need to rely on anyone else. Plus if you have extra time you could look into taking on one or two customers where you can bale their fields as well since your only dealing with a small amount of hay of your own. Would help pay for some of the equipment.

I hay roughly 100 acres and do most of the work myself (except for putting the hay up). There are a lot of long days. I have been adding equipment and have been pushing more and more when the weather is nice as my father has started helping me with baling and a few of the other hay jobs. It is still a lot of work though and usually I spend an entire month just trying to get first cutting done. The weather here is the biggest factor. That reminds me, custom baling outfits won't cut usually if there is a chance of rain. If the hay gets ruined then their out their time and fuel and their customer is upset because their hay got ruined. Its a lot of potential headaches for both sides when dealing with what your dealing with. Good luck to you and if you decide to buy your own equipment now is a great time to buy as everyone that is looking to get out of haying or upgrade equipment is ready to sell, also dealers want to get rid of the hay equipment now so it doesn't sit on the lot all winter so you can get great deals on new and used hay equipment almost everywhere you look.