# Going rates for hay crews



## labradorguy (Jun 29, 2017)

Still learning my way around here and not sure if I put this in the right spot or not....

What is the going rate now to pay boys to pick up and stack squares? I'm guessing the $0.04/bale I got in high school is not going to fly these days. Odd cuz fescue hay around here is still selling for the same price as it did then.....


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

First question, do you think you can find willing helpers at any pay that will be feasible for you?

I would hate to spend the money you're about to on new equipment and still be relying on hiring kids or anyone to pick up in the field.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Hay crews are a myth. Just like Santa Claus.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

But Santa visits me every year. He eats the cookie and drinks the milk I leave out for him.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Teslan said:


> Hay crews are a myth. Just like Santa Claus.


What!

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

labradorguy said:


> Still learning my way around here and not sure if I put this in the right spot or not....
> 
> What is the going rate now to pay boys to pick up and stack squares? I'm guessing the $0.04/bale I got in high school is not going to fly these days. Odd cuz fescue hay around here is still selling for the same price as it did then.....


As you can glean from the preceding posts..... hay crews do fit right in there with unicorns and such...best of luck to you, if they's a Mexican population around you, you are in luck...outside of that, it's gonna be tough sleddin'

And your post was spot on about the metrics of the hay business.....


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Teslan said:


> Hay crews are a myth. Just like Santa Claus.


You, You, You better shut your mouth!!!!!


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Folks I know use the same "crew" that did all the work to turn it into a "idiot square" in the first place.....


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

rajela said:


> You, You, You better shut your mouth!!!!!


Im sorry I know some still believe hard working hay crews can still be found.


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## labradorguy (Jun 29, 2017)

I'm going to clarify something here folks.... I am not looking for help off the street. Days of finding kids to do that are gone. I understand that. LOL

I have boys. They're going to get their butts out there and throw bales and that's long and short of it. It's not open for discussion. We have a deal. I feed them and keep the rain off their heads and they do their chores. I know I am backwards as hell here and stacking bales in a pole barn is probably some form of child abuse these days, but it is what it is. They are doing it.

I don't believe a parent overpaying their kid is doing the boy any favors. I want to be fair with them. I need to have an idea as to what the going rate is because they will be talking to some of their buddies and if I am short changing them, I'll never hear the end of it. haha

They are good boys and they don't mind the work. They help me with timber a lot. They start high school in the fall and they want to earn a few bucks. I did it every year and loved it. My buddies were working at McDonald's. Come football time, I was ready to rock and roll. 

10 cents a bale??


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

labradorguy said:


> I'm going to clarify something here folks.... I am not looking for help off the street. Days of finding kids to do that are gone. I understand that. LOL
> 
> I have boys. They're going to get their butts out there and throw bales and that's long and short of it. It's not open for discussion. We have a deal. I feed them and keep the rain off their heads and they do their chores. I know I am backwards as hell here and stacking bales in a pole barn is probably some form of child abuse these days, but it is what it is. They are doing it.
> 
> ...


Are you serious about 10 cents a bale? That seems a bit low to me. 100 bales for $10 bucks? Most hay haulers around here charge $1 a bale to stack hay when they deliver. Another $1 for I suppose loading the hay and hauling it. So I would propose $1 bale to pick it up out of a field and then stack it. Since out of the field is harder then loading a trailer from a stack. It's up to your crew how to divide that $1. Here also the custom stackers using SP NH stackers charge $1 a bale or more and it's much faster then a hay crew. But your area might be different. But since you feed and house them you could take that out of the $1 a bale....


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I'd say being as you feed the cloth them keep a roof over their head that .15 a bale each would be quite sufficient.


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## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

I think it would be possible to stack 200 an hour.. With the right help. That would come to $20 an hour. It would give the boys incentive to work hard to get a lot of bales up an hour. I didn't get half that back when I was in school working for nieghbors. And for dad i donated my time. Which I'm glad I did because he has paid me back ten-fold


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## weatherman (Dec 5, 2008)

Teslan said:


> Hay crews are a myth. Just like Santa Claus.


Back in the day there was such a thing as hay crew. Now my hay crew consist of my wife baling/accumulating and me stacking with a grapple. That's the reason for mechanizing the operation. Most kids I try to get to help want something for nothing. I had a gal who wanted to help, no experience. I told her she can pull the wagons with the air condition truck while I stack with grappler. She wanted $22/hr. I gave her $9/hr. Worked her for 2 hours to stack 4 wagons. She took off while I was unloading 2 wagons with out saying s word.

Even if it is your own kin they still think they should be compensated. I paid by the hour.


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## eberlej (Oct 20, 2009)

The only guys we can get in our area are Mexicans. These guys come after work and will sacrifice their weekends and haul in 100 degree temperatures and work well into the night. They get a dollar a bale, 50 cents to put it on the trailer and another .50 to stack in the barn.

They drink beer like Gatorade and I always make sure I have plenty on hand for them. At the end of the day I make sure they get a gratuity. I can't say enough about these guys as they are an absolute Godsend!

There is an independent crew (Mexican also) that does it for a living. They are more expensive but they provide their own equipment.


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

For what it's worth, I figure it costs me a little less than $.25 per bale per move...IE; from the field to the wagon, then another quarter from the wagon to the barn, then another quarter from the barn to the customer's trailer.

That's what I figure it costs me with the grapple and tractor or skid steer by the time I figure in depreciation, time, etc...

The last time I paid for help riding the wagon, I paid a quarter a bale.

It sounds like you have already instilled a work-ethic into your children and they will not slouch when there is work to be done. It may be easier to pay them by the hour?...they can make a decent wage while you could get off for less than the quarter-per-bale?

I'm as tight as a gnat's ass stretched around a rain barrel, but I try to remember:

For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, the worker is worthy of his wages.

Mark


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

I pay my son a labors wages ($10/hr) on my construction jobs, and I still got yelled at by my ex for not paying him enough last summer. It was a time and material job, and I could not justify paying him a carpenters wages.


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## Fossil02818 (May 31, 2010)

I have a few small fields where we have to pick up bales and hand stack onto trailers. I pay a small crew of 3-4 guys $20/hr for each of them. At that price I can get dependable hard working help that wants to get the job done quickly and then go home. At $10/hr or even $15/hr I have guys not show up or make excuses for being too busy. I used to be able to get high school kids who wanted some spending money but those days are gone. So I've learned that HERE its best to pay top rates or pick them up myself and I can't pick them all up myself. Last week my crew picked up and stacked 360 bales from two fields in just 2 hours. That's .44 cents/ bale.


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## labradorguy (Jun 29, 2017)

Lots of good answers here. This makes me want to start a new thread. How much are some of you getting for your orchard grass/fescue???

I'll have to put some thought into this. I'm going to be out there with them throwing bales and teaching them to stack a wagon and a truck. And I'll be in the barn working with them and showing them what to do there too. When I said $0.10/bale, I was meaning ten cents to each of them for the total number of bales. That's the way we did it when I was a kid. If two of us put up 200 bales after school, then each of us would take home twenty bucks (if it was ten cents per bale... I wish). The neighbor I worked for was cool. He would figure it by the bale and then figure it at $3.50 per hour and pay us whichever was more. That was nice when we were doing fields that were a few miles away and there was riding time. We never complained. He also gave us each a beer at the end of a hard day. Getting a beer and getting to drive a truck down the highway before I even had a license were pretty cool perks for that job. I never complained.

I think I will start them out at .10/bale and then go quickly to .15 to reward them for their work.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Paying by the job is better than by the hour, it gives the worker incentive to work faster. Pay by the hour and you run the risk of dragging the work out and the job not getting done. Quarter a bale is good pay.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

weatherman said:


> Back in the day there was such a thing as hay crew. Now my hay crew consist of my wife baling/accumulating and me stacking with a grapple. That's the reason for mechanizing the operation. Most kids I try to get to help want something for nothing. I had a gal who wanted to help, no experience. I told her she can pull the wagons with the air condition truck while I stack with grappler. She wanted $22/hr. I gave her $9/hr. Worked her for 2 hours to stack 4 wagons. She took off while I was unloading 2 wagons with out saying s word.
> 
> Even if it is your own kin they still think they should be compensated. I paid by the hour.


I guess I should say hay crews are not a myth but are legendary.


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## Northeast PA hay and beef (Jan 29, 2017)

We use throw on baler and kicker wagons. Can't leave bales on the ground for any length of time, never even seen an accumulator run in person. Have 5 wagons and try to average 2000 bales a day, starting around noon finishing around 7. Try to have me plus five others when we bale. One baling, one raking and 2 unloading wagon and 2 in mow stacking. when raking is finished extra guy helps in the mow. it is all they can do keeping up with the baler. One guy is on salary the others get 12 an hour and if we do 2000 and baler doesnt have to wait for wagons they each get 40 dollar bonus.

We adjust the bonus for number of done each day. One day we did 3200 bales they each took home 250 bucks. Only way to keep them coming back and working hard. They also weed out the slackers themselves. They will tell them to pick it up, have had guys leave midday though. Mostly high school kids helping, but they consider it getting paid to train for wrestling.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Growing up, I never got paid for any work on the farm.

I never paid my two children for helping me haul hay. They knew I was spending hay income on the family, was not spending it on myself. It cost a lot of money to raise kids especially if they compete in sports.

I would give them some spending money. Both are good with money as young adults now.

If you are supplying the truck and trailer and also helping then to me that is different than a crew coming in and doing it on their own. Paying them .15 each and you supplying the truck and trailer sounds fair to me for children putting their feet under my table.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

My kids didn't get anything other than a roof over their heads and food on the table before we bought the stackers. It was part of chores. It was also an education in work ethic, just like building fence. When I was a kid, dad had us moving hay for other folks after school and on weekends. We each got a Pepsi on Saturday if we did a good job that week.

With all of that being said, last week I know of a hay crew that was getting $1/Bale picked up out of the field and stacked. It ended up being just under 1500 bales and took four days.

I charge between .65 - .75/Bale to do it mechanically.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Some of the figures are a bit confusing to me. One person should be able to move 120 bales an hour. That's 1 bale every 30 seconds. At .25 a bale, that's $30 for that load of 120. Loading wagon and unloading into barn will break down to $15 an hour (soldiers hardly make that wage). We know most just pay cash and no 1099 is involved. Mind you the tractor operator (me) is not being 'paid' and I will switch up and give the other guy a break. I understand there might be a factor like barn distance you figure that in I reckon but going past .50 a bale would be the max. A lone man should make more per bale than a crew of 4. The cycle time of moving a bale would be that much faster with a crew of 4 tossing. Even if it's a crew of 4, that just means 4 times the hay is put up in the same time frame.

I'm a machinist by trade and most don't make $60 an hour, much less $30. I will gladly work for $1 a bale because that's more money than I ever made per hour. It may just be me, that I'm strong and work fast.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

BWfarms said:


> Some of the figures are a bit confusing to me. One person should be able to move 120 bales an hour. That's 1 bale every 30 seconds. At .25 a bale, that's $30 for that load of 120. Loading wagon and unloading into barn will break down to $15 an hour (soldiers hardly make that wage). We know most just pay cash and no 1099 is involved. Mind you the tractor operator (me) is not being 'paid' and I will switch up and give the other guy a break. I understand there might be a factor like barn distance you figure that in I reckon but going past .50 a bale would be the max. A lone man should make more per bale than a crew of 4. The cycle time of moving a bale would be that much faster with a crew of 4 tossing. Even if it's a crew of 4, that just means 4 times the hay is put up in the same time frame.
> I'm a machinist by trade and most don't make $60 an hour, much less $30. I will gladly work for $1 a bale because that's more money than I ever made per hour. It may just be me, that I'm strong and work fast.


There are two things that you are not accounting for. The first is convenience, as in someone does not want to or is unable to do it. The second is speed, as in younger folks or a crew of them are nice faster at getting it in the barn before a rain.
Those two things make it worth every penny to some folks.
People ask me how many bales that i can put up per hour with a stacker.... I answer.... They do the mental math.... They ask really? Here, it is the convenience of getting it stacked in an afternoon instead of four days. That means that irrigation can be turned on four days faster per cutting. That equals almost two weeks of extra growth by the end of the summer.
As to the$60/HR figure, and this is using a NH stack wagon, we typically run $200 to $300/ HR, gross. Not a bad return on a relatively inexpensive purchase.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Lostin, the valuation is based on manpower not equipment use. Find me a job that pays $200-300 an hour and I will work that one too. Equipment to Manpower costs are not cut and dried apples to apples. You would be hard pressed to find a job paying $15 an hour for unskilled labor (and often times paid under the table, that beats giving 30% to taxes).

Convenience and what a person is willing to pay are different factors. I own a stack wagon so I know the benefit. The OP was looking for rates to pay workers. If I paid more than .25 a bale for manual labor, I'm hooking up to the wagon. If I were paid $1 a bale, I would just have to move 30 bales to make $15 an hour. 30 bales ain't getting it done fast nor is that really hard work.


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## reckelhoff1000 (Jul 15, 2016)

I think you are right to try to pay your boys a decent wage, but I think a simple hourly wage would be fine. In my experience either you have a work ethic or you don't, trying to motivate by bale probably wouldn't have much effect. I remember being in the hay field and just knowing dad was watching was enough motivation. I knew how hard he worked and it just felt that if I wasn't hustling or working harder then the others in the field I was letting him down. And if they aren't moving fast enough a good ass chewing always works


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## hillside hay (Feb 4, 2013)

I can't get reliable help for $20 per hour. My wife is making me buy a round baler after her first 800 bale day. I just hate rebaling. We used to get .08 per bale each. So the farmer paid .40 per bale to mow it away. 25 years ago though. Good to pay the a fair wage it will go along ways with them


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## labradorguy (Jun 29, 2017)

I'm going to go with the 0.10/bale and let them get their feet wet, then bump it up to .15 and show them that working hard has it's rewards.

I did something similar with logs and with firewood. For a long time it was, "Dad, can you get us that PS4 video game??" After a winter in the woods, it was "How many sticks of firewood do we need to sell to buy that game?" Bingo. The light came on.

The best deal was Christmas before last.... It looked like Hillary was going to win, so I went out and bought them each an AR-15 and a stack of 30 round mags for Christmas. They each got a thousand rounds and then they had to start buying "most" of their own ammo. You never saw boys hooking up logs so fast. LOL


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

One thing I would suggest is no matter what you pay them, require them to put some away in a savings account, at least 10%. It will help teach them how to save. Since they are your kids you can do that.


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

CowboyRam said:


> One thing I would suggest is no matter what you pay them, require them to put some away in a savings account, at least 10%. It will help teach them how to say. Since they are your kids you can do that.


...and then, to teach them about taxes and welfare rats, you can take ANOTHER 30% and give it to the lazy kid down the road that was playing video games while your kids were working. :huh:

Mark


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

With my boys i figured their wages this way. Whatever it took me to do the job X $$ per hr i would do it for. They were paid by the bale and when the could outwork me they made more than i would have. 40 cents a bale worked out for us.


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## labradorguy (Jun 29, 2017)

The boys and I are still trying to figure out who those people are at Wal-mart who are walking around in flip flops and pajamas at three in the afternoon....


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

My momma always told me that folks that wear flip-flops wear them for one reason and one reason only, they're lazy.....I tend to agree  (I need to agree cause momma is always right)

If you could manage to get some sweat from them folks at WW (word of warning, it's gonna prove difficult...), we could sell it for boll weevil eradication....farmer could spray it and the damn weevils would be too lazy to climb the stalk 

For the record, I would do hourly wages if I did wages at all.....


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

And I hope none of my younguns don't ever get on haytalk  they might get the wrong impression, I mean, I've been a payin 'em....just not in cash 
they wouldn't like this talk about pay.....they might think I've been a fibbin to 'em


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

BWfarms said:


> Lostin, the valuation is based on manpower not equipment use. Find me a job that pays $200-300 an hour and I will work that one too. Equipment to Manpower costs are not cut and dried apples to apples. You would be hard pressed to find a job paying $15 an hour for unskilled labor (and often times paid under the table, that beats giving 30% to taxes).
> Convenience and what a person is willing to pay are different factors. I own a stack wagon so I know the benefit. The OP was looking for rates to pay workers. If I paid more than .25 a bale for manual labor, I'm hooking up to the wagon. If I were paid $1 a bale, I would just have to move 30 bales to make $15 an hour. 30 bales ain't getting it done fast nor is that really hard work.


I used to think that stacking hay was not skilled labor. It turns out that I was wrong. Just this past week I saw exactly what unskilled labor can do for a stack yard.
Otherwise, great points.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

My children learned early "how many bales" something would cost. We would get the strangest looks from people when we were shopping. My kids were discussing prices in hay terms rather than dollars.


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## labradorguy (Jun 29, 2017)

I've never paid them before (and they have yet to ask), but they are getting close to being at "that age". They are SO busy with baseball and football, and they are working on Eagle Scout. I know they're going to want to make some money to buy something to drive in the near future. If I don't give them a few bucks to work with me, they'll end up at a local fast food place or something like that. This way I get to spend more time with them.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Lostin55 said:


> I used to think that stacking hay was not skilled labor. It turns out that I was wrong. Just this past week I saw exactly what unskilled labor can do for a stack yard.
> Otherwise, great points.


Ain't it the truth Lost, I had one guy stack a bay in my shed (180) bales, 8 high, 3times. Once on my dime, twice on his. Blew out in the aisle onto my baler three days later. Then I discovered that the woodshed was filled with the same engineering. He doesn't work here anymore.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

I'm as tight as a gnat's ass stretched around a rain barrel, but I try to remember:
For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, the worker is worthy of his wages.

The first part is hilarious. And I like the sentiment of the second part.


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## kidbalehook (Mar 19, 2013)

NW Ohio... I'm lucky my boys are high school age so we have plenty of their buddies that want to help out. We pay them $8 - $10 an hour under the table. Work them hard, but always take breaks, plenty of drinks and usually McDonald's when everything put away for the night. When my kids leave for college and are done with 4H, the baling will probably end too. Just too hard to make good hay, find good help, keep my old equipment running and trying not to lose my cool when someone says my $3 a bale 50-60 lb. bale is more expensive that the other Craigslist ads. I take pride in what I make, but as I get older it seems there are other things in life to take pride in too!


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

I am kinda getting to that point too...I don't mind working hard for some fair money...but spinning your wheels for nothing just puts you in a bad mood..

I have sold over 100 rounds to a lady over 5 years. This year I email her to see if she needs any hay and she gets a short will me. I find out 1 bale had some mold and 2 were "dustier than usual" so she doesn't want any hay....So that's 3 bales, out of 100 in 5 years... That's a 97% in my book. If I were in school that would be an "A+"....oh well...


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

PaMike said:


> I am kinda getting to that point too...I don't mind working hard for some fair money...but spinning your wheels for nothing just puts you in a bad mood..
> 
> I have sold over 100 rounds to a lady over 5 years. This year I email her to see if she needs any hay and she gets a short will me. I find out 1 bale had some mold and 2 were "dustier than usual" so she doesn't want any hay....So that's 3 bales, out of 100 in 5 years... That's a 97% in my book. If I were in school that would be an "A+"....oh well...


I guess I am really fortunate. I have culled my prior bad customers out. I have one that comes and loads off the wagon. pays top dollar. had some last year that were a little green. I had warned him of that possibility and not to take anything he did not want. Did not even call last year when the problem arose. just gave it to a cattle farmer. This year he mentioned it and I offered to replace it free. He told me to please not worry about it. "Just make my horses some of that good second cutting". Which I did, and he is still happy and satisfied.

Having all bales in a batch, field or whatever, green, soft, dry, but not tough or like straw without preservative, baled on the same day with different moisture levels in the ground, different soil types in the field, different plant populations etc, is just a myth. my 1 cent for the day.


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## bfletch7441 (Jun 25, 2015)

I've got a group of boys from church that pick it up from the field, onto my trailer, and stack it in my barn for $1/bale. It's usually an even split between the 4 of them. All I do is drive. They seem happy to get the money, and I'm glad to pay them.


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