# Selling for haylage or baleage - 1st cut alfalfa?



## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Last year I sold all my first cut alfalfa to a local dairy for haylage. I mowed, they had a custom operation merge, chop and truck. I'm wondering if having it rolled and wrapped, then marketing the baleage would/could be advantageous to my bottom line? I have no idea what baleage sells for. Thoughts on marketing baelage?


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

It can be very tough to sell... personally I think if you have a local dairy that will buy it out of the field that is your best bet. I have sold mixed grass baleage to amish dairies. They fed it to dry cows. I think it was a way to buy in cheaper feed and save their better feed for the milking animals. I used to get $50/bale for 4 x 4 1/2 round bales. Havent sold any in a few years, but the last time I tried, I didnt get much of any interest.

Big squares of alfalfa can sell ok, but forget round bales of high moisture anything in my opinion..


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## jedp (Mar 18, 2017)

Unless you own the equipment to merge it, chop it, haul it off the field, and bag it yourself...then unload the bagging and move it to your customer; I can't see how it would pencil out. We do the same here as you described, sell standing, get paid by the customer to cut our own hay then they shoulder the cost of haylage processing and trucking. I like the marketing up front to get it sold standing when we have no out of pocket costs yet for the field work. I wouldn't want to be negotiating price feeling like I might have to take what I could get because I had a bunch of chopping and bagging bills coming due. Might get a bit more $ in the end but what's the cost of money over time?


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

I still have baleage left to sell. I don't think there is much of a market for it. I use it for cutting the weed cycle in hayfields and getting the last cutting in the fall. I sold over 100 hundred bales this year and 80% was drought related. The rest has been for the Amish that raise sheep.


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

Local guy without any animals was bragging about how great his new rapper was a couple of years ago till he went to sell them. There they sat giant marshmallows he couldn't give them away I haven't heard one word of how great his wrapper is since then.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Like its been said, pretty much my experience is if your gonna wrap em then you need to feed em, the market for wrapped hay just isn't that strong. Just about anybody can make good bale age and the price reflects it, however making quality dry hay is what people are willing to pay for and here the price reflects that as well.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Thanks for all the responses guys. Sounds like I should stick to selling it for haylage. It is quick and easy. First cutting doesn't seem to sell well as dry hay, and it's tough to get it dry and in shape that early in the spring anyway.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

I will add that the demand will change if corn price goes up as some dairy guys will plant more corn to avoid buying it, and then there often is a better demand for grass and alfalfa forage...


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

You bet there are years it was dry corn with high my neighbor with no cows would wrap an entire cutting of alfalfa sell it for $100 a bale and guys would come 50-60 miles to haul it home. About yesterday tried to do the same thing no one would even want it and like said those big white blobs wood rot at the barn,, supply and demand always speaks. Hear the hay markets are not strong .finding a dairy that would chop it would be great we did some of that last year I think we'll do it again this year some. We had to wait in the money a couple of months but we got paid


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

A number of producers here like to sell 1st cutting alfalfa as you did. If cut early it can solve a weevil problem. Again if harvested in the bud or first bloom it can mean a extra cutting. Spring is our wet season to and can save ten days trying to dry hay down to bale.


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## azmike (Jan 4, 2015)

Its just too heavy, we stack our as close to where we are going to feed as possible. Our first cutting of alfalfa was overseeded with triticale and did well. We are putting this in baleage for feeders this next fall/winter.


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