# How much does my hay cost and what is the price?



## Vol

This VA TECH extension man says to ask these questions as a forage producer.

Regards, Mike

http://www.progressi...alfa&Itemid=134


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## somedevildawg

Reminds me of jack, you want the truth? You can't handle the truth! When you do the math it's humbling how little money you make!


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## hay wilson in TX

You just have to love how an Academic Thinks. !

Equipment cost, real cost. The basic cost to us is so much an hour. plus expendables. 
Say the real cost of running a Round Baler is $200 an hour. That is fuel etc cost including the individual running the equipment. Now in theory string wrap is capable of 20 bales an hour, while net wrap is capable of 40 bales an hour. 
Then you throw in dead head times running from windrow to windrow, A simple right degree turn or a reversal in direction does not require much time, but point rows and light windrows with distances between the windrows all cost time.
A string wrap has the potential of $10 per bale while the net wrap has the potential for $5 cost per bale.
You can see some fields with 5 bales an acre have one cost while 1 (one) bale an acre will cost more the the higher yielding field. 
It works the same for mowing. Some fields I can mow at 12 mph while others 4 mph is an effort. The cost per hour for each field will be almost the same.

Then we have fertility. One advantage of a hay analsysis is it tells us how much of each element is in the crop. Then if we kn9ow the cost of each element per pound or ton, we can know how much value the elements are in the hay. 
If you are in the hay business it matters not if you actually paid for the fertilizer, the elements are there and have a worth.

Unless of course you are baling highway right of way at no cost for fertilizers of seed.


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## Nitram

The only way I truly knew the cost and price was when I had to buy it. Now when producing it there are so many variables some not as blatant such as was there something I should have been doing instead of laying under a baler unplugging etc. Lol


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## somedevildawg

At the end of the season, backing out as much as I can, I figure I've got close to 120.00 a ton in my hay. I am probably being conservative......


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## LeadFarmer

somedevildawg said:


> At the end of the season, backing out as much as I can, I figure I've got close to 120.00 a ton in my hay. I am probably being conservative......


My neighbor came up with a very similar figure, I want to say he was somewhere between 120 and 125. He is a BIG-TIME bean counter too, so I imagine his numbers are very accurate.


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## gradyjohn

I custom for others so I base my cost on that. My rate plus my cost (fertilizer, seed, etc) thro in a little profit and I will be happy. Of course there was that time we had a dry summer and hay was scarce. I baled up one of my customers maize fields and had over 300 bales by mid August. I was already counting the killing I was going to make. Then it rained in Sept. everybody got a great last cut. Hay way plentiful ... I couldn't even break even. I lost my a**. The old saying "It is worth what people are willing to pay".

I might add that if you can't make more than the custom guy does ... do custom work.


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