# How thick is your skin?



## enos

Ahhhhh, getting that time when Pony Princesses start calling about getting their weed patches custom baled. I agree to do it when I'm in area/ going by. First warm day comes along and the frigging phone never stops. " when you gonna be here?" Even if it's not haying weather. How do ya all deal with it beside turning phone off?


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## JD3430

May I also add to "when you gonna be here" + " can you do it for $3/bale ." 
These are bar none the cheapest people you'll ever meet. They always take out their cheap-ness on the hay man. I swear I had one beat me up for $5 on a round bale. I'm sure she has no problem spending $500 extra on some new horsey gear or a new truck!


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## somedevildawg

Had a lady ask me about it last year, told her 50hr to cut, rake, Ted.........3.75 a bale to square bale and accumulate, another $1pb to load bales in barn.....and oh, a 70 bale per acre minimum.......never heard back from that chick.......


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## Tim/South

I am $25 to cut rake and bale. Have not have one taker yet. Mission accomplished.
Most of us on here are hard workers. it is the way we were brought up, part of our DNA. As I age it has dawned on me that those who have managed to get through life with breaking little sweat, see us as unable to do anything else and not smart enough to have a desk job.
I have developed patience over the years. I shall never suffer the foolish.

If someone was asking me now, this time of year, when I was going to be there, my reply would be, "Toward the end of August".


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## enos

We are $3.00 per small square to cut ted rake and bale left on feild. $400 minimum. Have a few good ones, most are not quite right in head. Gets done when I'm going by. Have some new ones this year that want to be FIRST on list. I have land spread all over and it works pretty good for cash flow while putting my own up. But oh the phone calls!!!!! Can be pissing rain and sun comes out for ten minites and it starts ringing. I just tell them you get one chance at good hay, I have 250 acres to do, i can afford to get some washed cause I have cows to eat it, you don't.


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## R Ball

I have to round bale a lot of hay in the creek bottoms due to dust from high water. My feeders eat it well. But no one wants to pay me more than $15 a roll. Hence this year even the horse guys have paid $35 since they have no hay. I am sold out and down to 15 rolls for my cattle.


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## somedevildawg

The problem is, they think that they can have someone do it and come out cheaper than buying hay......most of the time it's not fertilized, land mines everywhere, and never sprayed. It costs me approx $50 per acre to spray my fields every year with 24d and Pastora, I don't need the cross-contamination problems that will manifest itself in my fields, if they have really good fields they probably have their own equipment. I did have fella get me to square bale his field last year, charged him 3.50 a bale and accumulate, he cuts and rakes and removes from the field. I think he thinks I charged him too much.....oh well, go buy a baler and a bandit and do it yourself, I have plenty to keep me busy.....


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## Lazy J

I'm tired of doing hay for nothing for people!!! This year we are raising our prices and putting in minimum charges. I'm also tired of the constant pestering. We tell people that we must complete our own hay or the work for others that were in front of them. However that doesn't seem to matter with some. I did tell one "customer" last year after they pestered us for two days and even called one of our other customers to ask them to call us that they needed to find someone else to do their hay work.

Diesel fuel is higher than last year and equipment maintenance costs continue rise.


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## Farmall1956

I am charging $20.00 per round bale [4x5] which includes cutting, raking, and net wrap. People around here won't pay much more than that. I do this for cow people mostly and they getting around $2.00 a pound at the sale. So I think $20. Is reasonable.


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## somedevildawg

Farmall1956 said:


> I am charging $20.00 per round bale [4x5] which includes cutting, raking, and net wrap. People around here won't pay much more than that. I do this for cow people mostly and they getting around $2.00 a pound at the sale. So I think $20. Is reasonable.


Ya know I can't be reading this right, I musta failed at math......them numbers look a bit outta wack, but regardless.....the reason people won't pay much more than that is because there are people willing to do it for that......nuf said, I like mayo but not good enuf to eat it on a samich every day....


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## Tim/South

somedevildawg said:


> Ya know I can't be reading this right, I musta failed at math......them numbers look a bit outta wack, but regardless.....the reason people won't pay much more than that is because there are people willing to do it for that......nuf said, I like mayo but not good enuf to eat it on a samich every day....


I had to study on it a minute. I believe he is saying that cattle are bringing $2.00 a lb. so them paying $20 to have their hay baled is reasonable.
Last Spring I actually did get $2 a lb. for some weanrers. We were walking in high cotton there for a while.

My price it $25 to cut rake and bale. $23.50 if I like the person.


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## somedevildawg

Tim/South said:


> I had to study on it a minute. I believe he is saying that cattle are bringing $2.00 a lb. so them paying $20 to have their hay baled is reasonable.
> Last Spring I actually did get $2 a lb. for some weanrers. We were walking in high cotton there for a while.
> 
> My price it $25 to cut rake and bale. $23.50 if I like the person.


Roger that, didn't think about that possibility, I gotta be at 25 pb and a 5 bale per acre minimum.....but that's me and I don't mind em telling me no......square are a bit different.


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## Tim/South

somedevildawg said:


> but that's me and I don't mind em telling me no.


My exact mindset. 
I can stay at home and it cost me nothing. If I am going to work then it has to be at a price I can make money.


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## slowzuki

I don't do any custom work haying. I had one lady try to get me to do a field for 1$ a bale because it was close to me. After pestering her for location as I'm quite familiar with all the fields near me, come to find out its a field I already hay lol. I told her I'd do it for the same price as the hay I take off it now.


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## JD3430

slowzuki said:


> I don't do any custom work haying. I had one lady try to get me to do a field for 1$ a bale because it was close to me. After pestering her for location as I'm quite familiar with all the fields near me, come to find out its a field I already hay lol. I told her I'd do it for the same price as the hay I take off it now.


Sounds like some of the geniuses I have living around my area......


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## hayward

What happened to the good ole boy who would take any ole job, any ole feild, just so he could be out there doing what he loved to do, where he was at peace, had a great since of pride an accomplishment, wasn't worried about what it cost, or how much he'd profit, checking oil every 30 min in his rusted out cutter bar, pulling grass from unshieded pto, lacing rotten belts on wore out baler,fighting off fire ants while he lay on his back unplugging wet grass from jammed up pickup, jumping off tractor to cut string with his pocket knife every bale cause baler knife was missing, calling wife to pick up another bucket of cheap hyd oil an drop it by,even without a loader on his tractor could still move 50 bales aday, heading home after dark kiss his wife, sleep like a baby , get up go work ten hrs, come home do a little more patching on equip head for the next feild, do it all over again. Lol he bought couple hundred thousand in new equip, leveled an fert fields , enjoys ac on cab tractors,has a lot more production, better hay, still kisses his wife when he get home ! I don't reckon I miss em good ole days to much lol. O back to subject, say we cut our own hay, feed it or sell it for say 35$, why are we suppose to do someone elses for 15 to 20$?


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## clowers

I charge 27.00 for 4x5
30.00 for 5x5.5


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## Williams Farms

Let the ones that will do it for next to nothing have it. If you have a good reputation that customer will be calling you when the guys equipment is broke all the time or is being picked up by the bank because he can't pay for it by baling for next to nothing. I see the 20 dollar a bale guys come and go around here year after year. Been doing it over 20 years and still in business, but i don't bale for free.


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## mlappin

$13/acre to mow
$6/acre each time it needs tedded. Takes three times to get it dry, $18/acre for tedding.

$6/acre to rake

$9/bale for round baling with two wraps of net.

If any preservative is needed they pay the current price it would cost me to replace what I use, not the prepaid and bulk purchase price I actually paid.


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## JD3430

clowers said:


> I charge 27.00 for 4x530.00 for 5x5.5


I couldn't make any money if I charged double that for a 4x5. Ideally, $70/bale would be the goal. $60 minimum for MY needs.


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## mlappin

JD3430 said:


> I couldn't make any money if I charged double that for a 4x5. Ideally, $70/bale would be the goal. $60 minimum for MY needs.


He was referring to I believe the rate for custom baling which includes mowing, tedding, raking and baling.


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## JD3430

mlappin said:


> He was referring to I believe the rate for custom baling which includes mowing, tedding, raking and baling.


Ahhh yes. I think I need to get more sleep.


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## mlappin

JD3430 said:


> Ahhh yes. I think I need to get more sleep.


No worries, happens to the best of us


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## R Ball

Just got $6 a bale to round bale. Rolled 56 in 2.5 hours. I was happy. The guy was broke down and needed it rolled now.


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## ARD Farm

I work a day job because this is a hobby, an expensive hobby...lol

Lets see, Day job working for someone else, own my own shop and machine and fabricate on the side, have a big garden and avid hunter plus I'm semi retired at 66. The hay is my relaxiation.

My friends are all amazed and tell me I don't look 66. Work keeps me young.

I love horse girls. They smell good and never argue about bale prices, at least the ones I sell to and I've had the same customers a long time, cash, no checks and I'm too old to 'take it out on trade' but I still appreciate a fine smelling, good looking lady, I just never say anything to the wife. She smells good too.

I quit being amused with the 'I want it for this much' line, long ago. I'm a 'it's my way or the highway' person. Like I said, this is a expensive hobby, nothing more.

I do 2 large custom jobs 50-50. I get half right down the middle on the couter on small squares and I get to roll half of first and keep it. My custom customers pay half the fertilizer and half the overseed and/or refitting/seeding at my discretion as to what/when. One has a large boarding stable and she usually buys all of my share in small squares which I sell her at the going rate and she smells divine too. So good in fact that I actually allow her to pay for my share that she buys on installment payments...........

The other is filthy rich and just wants the field run and never worries about price.. She wants it in her barn so her hired help can feed her expensive show nags. No issue with me. My crew loads her barn. She does nothing but primp and brag about her nags. The first one smells better but she smells good too. She always pays with a check. I was worried at first until I found out what her old man owned, then I knew she was good for the money.

Running hay and being a dirty old man go hand-in-hand. What a life.


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## ARD Farm

I just use the Michigan Custom Rate (2014) schedule for custom forage. Now selling small squares is a different story. I like to keep everything in the barn until the snow flies and then run an ad on Craigslist. Ads are free unlike the local paper. problem is, there are a lot of 'kick the tires' people on CL so I sell by appointment only.

If I wanted to maximize my space (and not keep everything ag in the truss arch building), I believe I could warehouse around 10,000 bales. I never stuff it that full. I keep all my toys in it and my pickup and gooseneck, both tractors and all the hay tools plus an assortment of barn cats and my gardening stuff so I may keep a couple thousand bales inside it and a thousand or so in the old hip roof barn.

My wife and I agree that the best investment I ever made was a Clearspan Truss Arch Building and it's not a taxable structure here in Michigan because it's considered a 'temporary' building. Abiut a third the cost (erected) of a comparable pole building. Now, erecting it was another story, almost caused me a divorice and looking back, she was right and I was wrong (about truss spacing). Should always listen to a women. I know better.

I was doing 5 bucks a bale last winter out of the barn with delivery extra at $2.75 per mile both ways and I don't unload.

I've never understood why people don't plan ahead, but then, it's to my advantage that they don't.

2 years ago during the drought.shortage here I could have easily gotten 10 bucks plus a bale but I didn't have any to spare, I have mouths (muzzles) of my own to feed first.

The hay business is just like any other business, all kinds of wacko's out there but so long as the money is green, they can be anything.

No one on here will get wealthy from selling forage or custom harvesting. This ain't gold bullion after all..

For me, it's a fun thing most times. Gets me outta the house and away from moma. I hate whiners however. I get a whiner or a cut rater and my classic comment is, thats the price...period.

Not a have to do thing with me.


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## PaCustomBaler

Whenever they start calling, put them on a list and tell them where they are on it. Most fair way to do it.


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