# Only Custom Harvest



## justbad7 (Oct 2, 2013)

I was wondering if i could make a living off of just custom farming with 0 acres of hayland for myself. I would like to purchase a baler and self propelled swather both for around $50000. I have a 190hp tractor i could use for the baling. The tractor is a 9690 agco allis. I live in Northwest Kansas


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Simple answer.............No! You would need several more pieces of iron, help to run them, and a lot of good luck. Otherwise it's a several year process to build up a client list.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Yes and no.

Yes if there is enough custom work in your area to keep you working.

Yes if you can make enough money during hay season to carry you during the non harvest months.

Yes if you can compete with the existing competition.

Yes if you have some capital to get started.

No if those in your area bale for themselves.

No if you are going to have to travel to the ends of the earth to find custom work.

No if you do not have some mechanical skills and some funds for repairs.

No if you have to bale for cut rate prices to get business.

Basic rules of supply and demand apply. If there are people looking for custom baling then there is a demand. How much demand only you can calculate.

Supply....Can you supply what the customer desires? Rounds, large square, small squares, moving the hay to storage?

Check around and see if there is a demand for what you have to offer.


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## justbad7 (Oct 2, 2013)

okay thanks everyone


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## haymaker1979 (Nov 20, 2011)

I myself do lots of custom baling and its very cut throat I own over 300k in hay equipment and still strugle to get by im currently looking for a land owner to partner with to try to make all of this work


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## justbad7 (Oct 2, 2013)

i was wondering if you could make it with just baling or just swathing. or does one of the other make more then the other


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Look up Iowa custom farming rates. Realize from there how much of a window you have for each task. Pretend you were. 100% efficient. You could definitely pay for equipment and make a few bucks. Now back to reality. It comes down to acres. How many can you actually cover (for the customer when the weather is right).

Doing just one of these would keep you busy for much less than half of the year (without major travel). That will not pay the bills.


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## justbad7 (Oct 2, 2013)

I was mostly wondering what makes more money. Do you make any money on swathing alone? or does most of the money come from baling or vise versa


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Baleing grosses a lot more dollars per hr and per acre for me anyway,Rd baleing.Eq and expences are more tho.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I agree that baling would be the quickest money. The cutting, drying/tedding and raking has been done. No machinery on the property working to get the baling process right. Just show up, bale, get paid and go home.

I rolled my first custom "bale only" last week. It paid pretty well if I went by hourly wage.

I learned that I do not like to bale behind another person's raking. It was a guy I know a little and his baler broke. I would not accept what he offered because he was broken down. If it had been a normal custom job it would have paid well.


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## justbad7 (Oct 2, 2013)

ok thanks everyone for the insight


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## justbad7 (Oct 2, 2013)

i was wondering if anyone knows of a good SP swather with a discbine header around $30,000


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

HERE there is hardly any money in custom swathing. At least with a fuel hogging later model SP machine. The money is in round baling corn stalks and every dollar of it is hard earned.

If you want to make a living doing custom work, I would say you will need to do more than just hay. I do custom round bales, and that is all my baler does. No way can I make a living off just that baler.


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

If you find the right customers , you can keep a swather busy , its not much different than running combines. Better as a matter of fact, just due to the fact you dont have any trucks, grain carts and hired help is lessen . Thats how I paid for most of my hay equipment was doing custom swathing. I know in this area there is alot that gets swathed each year, lots of crops that can be hayed or chopped. Talk to some custom silage chopper outfits, they use swathers alot . Talk to some of the bigger hay guys and other custom haying operators they may send some acres your way ?Just making a living off custom haying is tough , maybe you could throw in some other types of custom work ? plowing,spraying etc. Just some thoughts for ya. Froze out winter wheat run across parts of north / panhandle texas ,oklahoma areas were strong this past season. I know some who done several thousand acres and bales too.Ask some equipment dealers who are some players in your area.It is work to get your foot in the door . Get out and run down some leads . btw I charge 17.00 plus per acre with swathers and I am getting 19.00 to 22.00 per acre on my combines , easy to see which makes me the better money.


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

Panhandle around $20 is all you get to combine. Around here most are charging atleast $40 and some are at $50 an acre.


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

LaneFarms said:


> Panhandle around $20 is all you get to combine. Around here most are charging atleast $40 and some are at $50 an acre.


Maybe so but when I have been down in your neck of the woods there are not much need for machines as there is out here in my neck of the woods, I dont mind charging what I do when I do as many acres a year we will do. There are 100's of combines run around this area, I make up the cheaper cost through the overage charge and the trucking. 3 - 20's 20.00 cutting, .20 per bu on overage, and .20 per bu trucking . I hear of higher prices but I dont know many who are really getting it either. My machines are paid for and my customers are long term and big acreage so I dont need to take advantage of them. Is Tim Layfield still around your area ? used to run some cattle out of Florida with Rockin L .


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

Tims dads place is about two miles from me.most of what gets combined down here is grass seed until all the corn this year. What is the overage you charge? A lot of the guys here don't want to do it by the acre they want to do it on halves shock could turn into quite a good deal. Grass seed has been running close to $2/lb. A good yield is 200 lbs.


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

example on overage , 40 bu. per acre wheat 20.00 per acre .20 over 20bu. .20 x 20 bu.=4.00 per acre , 40 bu. x 160 acres =6400 x .20 =1280.00 trucking =8.00 per acre , total charge would be 32.00 per acre charge . and that would be higher if we haul it over 15 miles to the elevator. That is what wheat would be, Corn we charge by the bushel cut an hauled, all of it is irrigated.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

A guy in this area got his start farming just swathing about 12 years ago. Now he owns a couple farms, equipment, and I'm sure debt to go with that. Swathing is the easiest part of making hay I think and custom would be easier as you cut when your schedule gets you to it or when the owner says to do it.


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