# New Hay business



## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

I just started a small hay business and right now I'm only looking to cut around a 100 acres a year. The only hay I have to cut right now is just mixed grass hay but I plan on planting 10 acres in Orchard grass this fall. I sell small square as well as a large round bales of hay. So far this year I have sold about 500 square bales (all I have baled so far) for 3.50 a bale delivered to the customer. I have sold around 20 round bales delivered for 30.00 a bale. Am I selling this hay too cheap? I have sold out of every bit I priced and currently have people waiting on hay when I cut the next field. Take into account all these people live within a few miles of myself. I plan on eventually only square baling hay if it's a high quality orchard grass and then rolling all the other mixed grass fields with the thinking that it takes just as much labor to haul a high quality bale as it does a low quality bale and the high quality hay will bring more money per bale. Thanks for any info!

Kyle


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## David in Georgia (Aug 30, 2009)

What is your "Field" price on your square and rounds? What size rounds, weight and length on squares? My field price on my squares are $3.00-$3.50 depending on quality. The bales being 36 inches and 50 pounds. My barn price is $4.00-$4.50. I personally wouldn't even think of delivering for any less than $5 a bale. But I have a good customer base so I'm picky. My 4x4's are $20 a bale field price and my 4x5's are $25 field price. Barn price has yet to be determined for this year due to still having to get all the cattle hay for my in laws up. Your right in your assumption on the quality issue.


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Square bales are about the same as yours. I get 2.50 a bale out of the field. We get 25.00 a bale for the rounds and they are a 5 by 5 bale. What kind of hay are you putting up?

Kyle


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## David in Georgia (Aug 30, 2009)

Bermuda mix and orchard fescue mix. This has been the best year on my Bermuda, had customers say it was so beautiful that they wanted to roll around in it. My property is a former golf course that got back to farming like it was supposed to be. Golf course failed and I got part and the guys who got the rest row crop it. What are the average bale prices in your area on squares?


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

You find people selling it for a 1.50 out of the field (mix grass) to 8.00 or 9.00 dollars out of the barn (alfalfa, orchard) so it's hard to say what is average. I would say 2.00 to 2.50 out of the field is close to average. Very few people deliver and that's one of the reasons I decided to start doing it in my business. Seeing how your only a couple of hours away from me I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to get my orchard stand started. We have 10 acres currently in corn that will be cut for silage here in a couple of weeks and I'm going to plant it back in orchard grass so my square bale hay production will go up in quality. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Kyle


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## David in Georgia (Aug 30, 2009)

I've never planted anything, all my stands were already established when I came in. But the first thing I'd do is to take soil samples and bring the soil pH up first if it's low, if the pH is low the plants won't utilize as much of the fertilizer as they should. Beyond this I'm not sure how you should proceed. Sorry I can't be of anymore help here.


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## Ridgerunner (Jul 10, 2009)

tnwalkingred,

How much profit do you think you have in a $25.00 5x5 roll, sold out of the field.

I am struggling to make a profit at that price. I prefer to never go below $30 per bale.


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Ridgerunner,

I'm not sure how much profit if any I'm making right now at the prices I'm selling hay at. Since this is my first year in the business I was hoping to sell hay at a cheaper price and build a customer base. Then next year after I have established a relationship with these people I thought I could sell hay at a higher profit margin.

Kyle


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