# Need help pricing this



## Hayman5555 (Apr 3, 2015)

I have a potential custom baling job that is unique to me and I'm not sure how to price it. The customer wants to help in the process. I will use all of my hay equipment (mower, tedder, rake, baler, and tractor). I will cut the field. He wants to fluff and rake with his tractor and my equipment. I will then bale and help move the bales to his barn (5x5 round bales). He will also buy all of the fuel.

I use the Iowa Custom Farm rates as a guide for pricing, but I'm not sure how to take his labor and fuel out of the equation.

Also, he says his field is 65 acres but when I measure it using google maps I get about 39 acres. Are these tools pretty accurate?

Thanks,

Tim


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I use Google Planimeter to measure acres and it fairly accurate depending how close to field boundary lines one establishes the "points" with the computer mouse. My experience with hay customers estimating their acres is the opposite of your experience as my customers normally under estimate their acreage amount. This under estimate is probably because I charge minimum charge per acre . I just checked my last yrs records and as close as I can estimate my fuel cost is very close to $1($0.96) per rd bale for cutting,raking & baling. I baled 2405 rd bales last yr & bought $2326 of diesel.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

It might be unorthodox, but I would charge full price and offer him $15/hour deduction for his help. I would also use my own fuel or simply deduct the value of the gallons, or liters, from the bill.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Is this someone you trust to do a good job raking? I'd worry they'd make me more work by bungling it, or leave them with poorly shaped bales because of their raking failure. If that isn't a concern, I think Lostin has a sound suggestion.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

The area calculator tools are pretty accurate. I had a thread on the topic a week or two ago.
Any time someone wants to offer help and fuel, in my experience, they are looking to get it done as close to free as they can get. I would be very straight forward as to pricing and the need for making a profit. In other words, I would be crystal clear add to my intention to charge appropriately


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## Thorim (Jan 19, 2015)

Hayman5555 said:


> I have a potential custom baling job that is unique to me and I'm not sure how to price it. The customer wants to help in the process. I will use all of my hay equipment (mower, tedder, rake, baler, and tractor). I will cut the field. He wants to fluff and rake with his tractor and my equipment. I will then bale and help move the bales to his barn (5x5 round bales). He will also buy all of the fuel.
> 
> I use the Iowa Custom Farm rates as a guide for pricing, but I'm not sure how to take his labor and fuel out of the equation.
> 
> ...


If I am doing a paying job for someone else he's paying for the fuel whether he's putting in my tractor/truck/loader from his fuel tank, or the price of fuel that I'll use is figured into the cost ahead of time, so the point of him offering to buy all the fuel is a moot point imho, he's paying for it one way or the other

I'd be leery of letting someone else use my equipment as I have stated else where in HT


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## Hayman5555 (Apr 3, 2015)

Thanks for the responses! I think I have decided to increase my cost for mowing to cover the cost of the tedder and rake, then only charge for mowing and baling. That way I don't have to worry about how long it takes him to fluff and rake. I can then subtract out the fuel cost and send him a bill.

I trust him to rake and fluff. I know he will do a good job as he has done this before. He is definitely trying to get this done as cheap as possible, which is ok as long as I get a fair price for my work.

I'll also use one of the area calculators and let him know his fields aren't as big as he thinks they are.

Thanks again for the info.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

I'd just bill him half typical price per acre for raking and tedding rather than hide the cost in the mowing in case he wanted you back for more work. That way it wouldn't look like your numbers were jumping around.


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