# Large, medium or small round bales???



## Itsalwayssomething

I bale for horse customers. I'm making more rounds just due to lack of time and labor but I'm pleased to find that more horse people are feeding round bales than in the past. I make 4x5s now but I need a second baler and I can't decide if I need to make larger or smaller ones or just go with 'If it aint broke... Does anyone have an opinion or experience with selling the small (3x4.5) rounds? Seems like it defeats the purpose but if there's a market for them...


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## CATTLEMAN

Everything I bale in rounds, is baled in 4x5's for horse customers. I have had two 4x4 JD balers (twine wrapped) in the past, but than I bought a NH 644 w/ Bale Command and net wrap. My customers like the wrapped bales, and I have not had one compaint of a "little bigger bale" than in the past. I can bale faster with the 4x5's wrapped versus the 4x4 twined. If I was you; I would stay with another 4x5 baler that has a wrap attachment. I also do small squares for several horse clients; but we try to do all 1sr cutting in rounds, and than split it up on second thru fourth cuttings, between rounds and small squares.


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## swmnhay

I know a guy here has a 3 x 4 rd baler.Some people like them because they can roll them threw a barn door and roll them by hand.They sell for pretty good money at salebarn by the bale.Most can't figure out what they are paying for it by ton.Auctioneer says they wiegh about 500# but they only are 250-300#.They end up paying more for it than sm sqrs.He just laughs about it and says aslong as they keep paying it he is gonna keep selling it that way.


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## Production Acres

A local farmer here sells a lot of rd bales in the winter. He switched from 5x5's a couple years ago to 4x4 bales. Says customers buy a bale of hay and are too ignorant to know the difference. And it is slightly true around here that most just want to know what the bale price is. And any rd bale goes for $20-25 dollars.


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## Wrenchbender

I bale 4x5s and like them for a couple reasons. 1, two of them side by side fit nicely on a trailer and don't hang over. 2, they will fit between the wheel wells on a pickup. I've got three horse people who pickup one at a time in their truck. WB<><.


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## haybaler101

If I were selling a lot of round bales, I would go to a 4x4 baler. I use a 6x5 baler just because that is what my custom guys want. Round bales here are priced at 25 to 30 a bale, doesn't matter what quality or size. I don't know what idiot ever determined that a round bale is a unit of measure. What round bales I sell are usually sold by the ton, but most hay is done big squares and sold by the ton. I can take a 3x3 square at 800 lbs and get twice the money that I can a 6x5 round bale at 1500 lbs with the same hay in it.


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## mike

I bale with a jd 568 and make a 5x5 net wraped that sells at 55. but with the manny newbe weekend people around here and there small toy tractors they cant handle the big bales. the smaller 4x5 bales now are bringing as much or more!!!!! (90) yes thats $90.00 for a 4x5 im looking at adding a 468 baler this year. also do a lot of small squars


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## jhag

Wow Mike!

What do you do? Roll up a 50 dollar bill in the middle? Great price! In Ontario, I've never heard of 4X5's at more than about $40.00.

Jim


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## BCFENCE

Whats a 4x5 weigh if you dont mind saying, Alfalfa / orchard grass
Thanks, Thomas


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## darren

My 4x5 bales are tight and weigh 950 lbs. Using the same brand bailer (gehl),5x5s weigh 1550 and 5x6 s weigh 1700 and up.I dont use the big bailer anymore because I get the same price out of the smaller 4x5 s.Go figure.


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## Production Acres

Rd bales can be so deceptive in weight. we bought some nice 2nd cutting orchardgrass 4x5 bales this summer - unreal 1050# on the scales. Last week, Guy offered me 475 bales of "hay"- it was a little rough - at $5,000 - that's $10.52/bale for shedded hay; but, the bales only weighed 585# each. Last summer guy brought a bunch of 4x5's out from new JD baler that only weighed 490#.

Buyer Beware!


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