# Small Square Bales



## big_country (Aug 29, 2011)

I was wondering what was the going price for small square bales of hay. Also what type of hay and where are you located. Also what is about the average weight per bale.

50 to 65 lbs Jiggs Bermuda 5.00

50 to 65 lbs Tifton 44 Bermuda 5.00


----------



## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

$3.50 - $4.00 / bale clean fertilized Bahia common Bermuda mix. Average weight about 30 to 40 lbs.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Fescue orchard mix $4.00 
Oat hay $5.00 
Orchard grass $5.00 
Orchard timothy mix $5.50 
50 to 55 pound bales


----------



## onecincyfarmer66 (Aug 30, 2012)

$5 for mixed grass
$5 for alfalfa/oat 
$7 for alfalfa
50-55 lb avg
Southeast IN


----------



## whitmerlegacyfarm (Aug 26, 2011)

$4.00 O grass 1st Cut
$5.00 o grass 2nd and 3rd Cut
$4.00 Timothy
$3.50 1st Cut Mixed Grass

Bales are 40-45lbs nice tight bales.
Central PA


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

40 lb. bales of 1st crop mixed grasses with a few weeds = $5.00 on wagon or $5.50 delivered.


----------



## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

40# bale of mixed grass 1st cut delivered locally and stacked in their barn $5.Out of state delivery $6-$7 also one place in ocean is paying $9 but the ferry cost me $600 . 2nd cutting has been always been a $1 more a bale but this year might be more depending on how much we get.


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

45-50# premium og 5.50-6

40-45# mixed grass 5-5.50

40-45# timothy 6

50-55# teff 6.50

40-45# timothy mix 5.50

second cutting about 1$ more except teff-it stays the same for now


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Don't know I ain't got one in the barn yet this year.....

If I ever do get to put up some squares they will be $7 a square for < a 100....65-70 lbs $5.50 for > 500


----------



## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

50 # for most all bales

with one person helping load

$5.00 Timothy

$4.50 Orchard grass

$4.00 mixed


----------



## Hand&Hand Farms (Feb 5, 2011)

50 to-60# bermuda grass 5,00

50 to 60# bahia mixed 4.00

mulch hay 3.00 picked up in the field

All baled with hesston inline and hopes somebody wants a bunch of them.


----------



## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

I'm putting up 50-60lb bales of timothy/birdsfoot trefoil and selling them for $3.75 (1st cutting). Typically get $0.50 more for 2nd cutting. One other factor for me is that all this hay is shipping into Florida and my customer pays all the freight, which can vary quite a bit depending on the trucking company, time of year, etc.


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Who buys the trefoil? Is it for horses guys wont buy for horses around here. I am curious though because the Florida market is a option to.


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Grow teff-best smelling and prettiest grass hay I have ever seen. If and when you get someone to try it for horses, I don't think they will go back. But, that is a big if!


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

We grow alfalfa timothy up here. This is going to sound dumb but what is teff. Never seen it or heard of it. Can you grow it in colder climates (canada). Also what is hay worth in se states. I see a few varieties of hay on these posts I have never seen. Must be where im from.


----------



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Teff probably wouldn't work in Canada very well. Needs heat to grow. $9.00-11:00/bale for 65 lbs bales of orchard/brome grasses. 8-$10 for alfalfa. That's premium stored inside prices. I'm getting $130/bale for my 800lb 3x3 squares of Premium orchard/brome grass and $120/bale alfalfa 900lbs bales.


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Depends im in a relatively hot area. Is there a website about teff? I should look around I know of a few people that haul it should see what they pay


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Hay Mab- here is all you want to know on teff: http://teffgrass.com/

Has information on planting, growing and harvesting teff. Teslan has a point on the warmth-teff needs 65 degree soil temp to germanate but I am not sure about needing excessive heat to grow. My third round (after cutting #2) is growing slower than the first two rounds and #3 has higher air temps for sure. It did like that Fla tropical air mass we had in June with rain, rain excessive humidity, and more rain. If you try it next year-think small 5-10 ac until you get used to it-it is a different ball game. If you have trouble with curing first cutting in your area, try getting someone to wet wrap the first cutting. You have to get it off the field fast. The CP and tdn are both high for grass hay-I had 18 and 68 on the first batch tests and the sugar is low. Good luck.


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Ok it looks like good stuff. Is it annual crop or perennial? If it is perennial how is it for winter kill? Is the yield comparable to alfalfa? Also if it is perennial can you mix with alfalfa seed or others?


----------



## dbergh (Jun 3, 2010)

Teff is an annual that is very frost sensitive. Good for two cuttings in our arid summer climates in southern Idaho. Dont plant too early and also it will tend to lodge very easily.


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Ontario hay mab said:


> We grow alfalfa timothy up here. This is going to sound dumb but what is teff. Never seen it or heard of it. Can you grow it in colder climates (canada). Also what is hay worth in se states. I see a few varieties of hay on these posts I have never seen. Must be where im from.


Welcome to haytalk Ontario, hay in the southeastern states ain't gonna get your attention.....typically I hope to get 180 pt but most probably less if I'm honest with myself.....sometimes our mind has a habit if doing that "justify lie" ....typically hay grown and sold down in the southeastern states is Bermuda grass. It's ability to thrive in hot humid conditions make it the number one choice for baleage. There are several different varieties of Bermuda grass....on this forum you'll see things like 'tift 85'. Alicia, coastal, jiggs,....there is alot of them and the reason is because they all have different traits....you see for the most part these are hybrid grasses, very few viable seeds, in most cases it is sprigged into a seedbed...takes a couple of years to get a good stand....will eventually outcompete virtually everything else...6-9 tons per acre average....10-14 cp average....fertilized fields...have to add that because we really have to pour the N to it...uses about 3 pound per day per acre....100 acre field that's 300 ppd consumption...gets expensive real quick, harvest every 28-31 day cycle, usually 4 quality cuttings....wanna buy some? Hope it helps...


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Ontario hay mab said:


> Ok it looks like good stuff. Is it annual crop or perennial? If it is perennial how is it for winter kill? Is the yield comparable to alfalfa? Also if it is perennial can you mix with alfalfa seed or others?


It is an annual and from what I have seen likes conventional tillage and well packed ground better than no-till. Others have reported success with no-till.. Does not like early weed competition but if planted on well tilled ground and rolled it germinates in about 48hrs provided you have at least 65 degree grd temp. I am getting a cutting every 30 days at about 24" height without irrigation. The literature does not recommend it for mixes but I had some volunteer timothy in mine that survived the tillage and that worked fine.


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

What is the seed cost of teff roughly. I breed thoroughbreds and sell alot of hay to local tracks. It would really suit us good if I can get it to grow. Thinking of trying a couple acres next year see how it goes. Should make a new post and see if any canadians ever tried it.


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

$0.34/# and 10-11# per ac seeding rate. When planning, just remember you can't cheat the frost in spring. When I planted on the 15th of may this year we had a 10 day forecast with no chance of frost. Frost free date here about 25th may so I went with it and it worked. It won't fully germanate if the grd is too cold even without frost. Your TBs will love it-it smells sweet and must be sweet the way our horses eat it. Like spinach with a honey mustard and sugar dressing


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Wow thats really cheap so used to alfalfa at 3 or 4 bucks a pound. How much fertilizer do you use. Our last frost date is about the same I figured plant june 1?


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Ontario hay mab said:


> Wow thats really cheap so used to alfalfa at 3 or 4 bucks a pound. How much fertilizer do you use. Our last frost date is about the same I figured plant june 1?


sorry, had a senior moment-probably too much sun this week making hay. It is $3.39/#. Hate to burst your bubble. I put it in a field that has been built up nutrient wise over the last 6 years. Put 50-50-50 on it and if you want to maximize the second cutting you might want to put another 30 units of N with sulfur after first cutting. If you do that make sure you are ready to do so the day or day after you bale-it grows that fast.


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

How many 50 pound squares would you average per acre. Around here I get 100 alfalfa rimothy per acre on good fields.


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Ontario hay mab said:


> How many 50 pound squares would you average per acre. Around here I get 100 alfalfa rimothy per acre on good fields.


I am thinking that we will end up with about 100/ac for the season-not sure but I think we will get 4 cuttings. My first cutting was baled too green and I lost it. Suspect that if it were dry and baled at the right tension I would have gotten about 220-250 bales off about 6.5 ac. Second cut that was dry and had tension still too tight I got 230. Third cut due about Aug 20.


----------



## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

Ontario hay mab said:


> Who buys the trefoil? Is it for horses guys wont buy for horses around here. I am curious though because the Florida market is a option to.


I mix the trefoil in with the timothy, usually at about 2:1 timothy/trefoil. I haven't had any complaints about it and several customers in FL asked if it was alfalfa. It looks similar, but has a yellow flower instead. The big reason I put it in the mix is to help cover some of the spots in my fields where the timothy doesn't do quite as well. The trefoil will usually do well and keep the weeds from taking over those areas.

I once read an article about a farmer that was using trefoil in place of alfalfa since his soils would not support alfalfa very well. The farmer said that he didn't get quite the same yield (fewer cuttings), but the quality was about the same.


----------



## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Ya when we fed cows we always planted trefoil. I hsve always been told people wont buy it for horses although I sold timothy trefoil and clover to a horse lady and she commented on all the nice 'alfalfa' in the bales. I think if you dont tell most horse people they dont have a clue. That used to be my problem I told them it was trefoil and then they heard that word and ran. I should try it and not tell them.


----------

