Round baler pricing...

[jltrent]

CCM- Another neighbor that looked at our balor (C. F. Long) and went and purchased a 505I from you I bet bales upwards of 5000 bales a year with his balor since 1989 or I know at one time he did. From looking at the balor it looks like it hasn't had much TLC either. I bet his balor has paid for itself 10 times over as he does mostly contract baling.

 

[Chillimau]

Sounds like custom baling might be a place you could actually do OK. IF you had 60,000 to 80,000 in equipment and could work the equipment by finding enough hay to bale you could pay for the equipment, fuel and maintenance and have little income. Sounds like the equipment will last.

A couple of people I have talked with said by the time you pay for the equipment it is worn out. That doesn't sound like the case from what you guys are saying.

This is nothing I would do today, but might be something to do IF I retired early.

 

[HayDR]

The tractor is what costs. Most custom operators run a large round baler until it needs a major and trade it. Custom operators that use 6x5, 6x4, or 5x5 balers usually trade every 5-7 years depending on the number of bales a year. Non custom operators that have large balers usually trade every 10+ years. The large farmer usually purchases a new baler so large used balers may often sell for less than a smaller round baler of the same year. It is supply & demand with the baler condition figuring in to the price. Balers from the coastal areas often have rust problems and may look good on the outside but be completely worn out and need major components replaced. The 5x4, 4x4 operators may trade every 8-12 years but some trade every 3-5 years because of a tax situation. The pickup does most of the work in a baler. Vermeer uses the same components on their smaller balers that the largest balers use. Both pickups do the same work in the same places. Every standard Vermeer baler from the Super I baler on is designed to bale haylage.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Up here it is hard to make money doing round bales. Most horse people want small squares and most farmers do their own if they do rounds. In the end you are looking at a small market and you had better research your area before buying the machine. Talk to some people and see if you can get some customers lined up. Then hope you can get their hay baled when it is ready and not wait too long and lose nutrients. I bale my own and do some custom but I try to stay away from custom work as the people are not happy if you are cutting your fields while theirs are getting old and losing protein.

 

[Chillimau]

Thanks for the Information Guys.

This is nothing I will start tomorrow. I had thought it MIGHT be something to do between retirement and old age if there is such a time for me. I might be able to pick up some customers when the fellow baling my hay retires, something to think about. Thanks again.