# cost to bale 4x5 round bale



## tomharmon (Jan 28, 2015)

Whats the going rate for someone to bale a round bale? Bale only ,no cutting, no tedding ,no raking.


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## cjsr8595 (Jul 7, 2014)

12-15 in southern indiana


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## NewBerlinBaler (May 30, 2011)

Last time I had any custom baling done was in July of 2016. Back then, 4x5 rounds were rolled for $6.65 / each.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

$10. 4x5.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

$12.00 in my area.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

https://www.uky.edu/Ag/AgEcon/pubs/customratesKY.pdf

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Tim/South said:


> $12.00 in my area.


Heyyyyyyy!!!! Looks who's back!!!!
Wazz up Tim?


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## Holte-Hoff (Jul 31, 2015)

I ask $10/bale net wrappe, $11.50 twine tied. No takers yet. I guess I'm too high!


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> Heyyyyyyy!!!! Looks who's back!!!!
> Wazz up Tim?


Healing and bored.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

Tim/South said:


> Healing and bored.


Unscheduled downtime is never fun. I hope your healing is quick since sitting around is highly overrated.

Great to have you back????


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## tomharmon (Jan 28, 2015)

Thanks guys, for all the good info!! That helps a lot. Gonna b cheaper and easier to go that route rather than replace my old baler.I only need 50-60 rounds to go with my squares.Thanks again!!


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I charge $15 for 4X5.5 to rake & bale. I know you stated "bale only" but I refuse to bale anybodies sorry,narrow not even made windrows. Bad windrows are very difficult to make good looking/level rd bales.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

I charge 9.10/bale.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

15 a 4 x 5 roll here if you can find someone when you need it done. that is why I got a round baler. I am not in the round bale business but it bailed (sorry for the pun) me out three times this year when my square baler did me wrong. Slip clutch went, feeder fork pin sheared when there was no time to change out and unplug, and thrower went nuts and started throwing to mars. In each case, I was able to finish the day with a few rolls which don't make me much money but saved the aggravation of having to ted out in the next morning and re rake. I don't roll for others but if I did, I would certainly charge 15$. I do square bale for others and charge $1.50 a bale which is higher than average according to rate reports but again, they are using me because I come when I say I will and I make a decent dense bale and let them use my kicker wagons for the day.


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

The PA custom rate charts from 2016 have $10.22 a bale for rounds. Doesn't really break it down by bale size. That's what I use for figuring my charges (not that I do a lot of custom work). My price for cut/rake/round bale is $15 per acre with a 4 bale/acre minimum... and I'm not advertising my services or readily accepting jobs when I have my own hay to do.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

Here in South West Virginia we are way behind time 7 dollars will get you get wrap.
The only place in the world where people still put up hay on the halves most places the guy putting it up gets two thirds.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Swv.farmer said:


> Here in South West Virginia we are way behind time 7 dollars will get you get wrap.
> The only place in the world where people still put up hay on the halves most places the guy putting it up gets two thirds.


GEEZ & I thought county where I live had rd baler operators that baled for too small amount of money.


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## cjsr8595 (Jul 7, 2014)

Swv.farmer said:


> Here in South West Virginia we are way behind time 7 dollars will get you get wrap.
> The only place in the world where people still put up hay on the halves most places the guy putting it up gets two thirds.


I still put up some hay with a buddy on halves, but he helps cut with his tractor and mower, uses his tractor and one of my rakes as well.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

I know what you are saying 
I put some up for a friend of mine he works all the time at his day job and he doesn't need but about 300 rolls a year and I do his on the halves but that is more to help him out.


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## KYhaymaker (Jun 7, 2018)

Seems the going rate central Ky is about $10 a bale, but it is hard to get someone to do it at all so sounds like to me the market is saying it needs to be more than $10. I turned some down at $10 just because hardly have time to get my own work done.


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## ZetorProxima90 (Jun 11, 2018)

Im in central Wisconsin and I charge $8.50 for a 4'x5' (twine only). Im probably a little low as I have researched this and the average rate for up here is around $10 x bale. I feel a happy customer is always a return customer so I charge a little less.


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

In central Wisconsin where I'm at I charge 9$ for a 4x5 round. There always seems to be someone running around my neighborhood doing it for less, but only for a year or two. I don't do a lot of custom baling and if I were to get serious about the custom work I'd have to get a serious silage baler and then have to charge more.


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## nanuk (Aug 29, 2011)

I went on hiatus for the last three years.

Plan on retiring from my "Day" job and go baling in 2019.

I was charging:

$13 for a 5x5 (1350lb average) and burning their fuel

$15 for a 5x5 (1350lb average) using my fuel

$15 for a 5x6 burning their fuel.

never made any 5x6 needing to burn my fuel.

those were all twine wrapped at 25-28 wraps.

I'd have to add $1.25 per bale to net wrap it.

There's about 800 acres that may be available next year, but for that I'd have to Cut/bale also.

I wasn't raking, but will probably be next summer to ease my baling.

no charge as my time will be about the same, and it will benefit me more.

If I cut too.... well, I"ll have to rethink it all.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

nanuk said:


> I was charging:
> $13 for a 5x5 (1350lb average) and burning their fuel
> $15 for a 5x5 (1350lb average) using my fuel
> $15 for a 5x6 burning their fuel.
> ...


If your time equates to money,

If your baler has ware, tare & lubing, with revolutions turned,

If your tractor has depreciation, that effected by time on hour meter,

If your tractor is 'burning' your fuel.

I'd look at actual 'total' costs of net wrap verse twine wrap.

In my case, net wrap cost of about $1 per bale of material (2 wraps), verses 50 cents of twine. But when I add cost to have baler turn an additional 23-26 times, the tractor's time of running (deprecation/fuel used), my time (it's not free), let alone the possible the additional bales, baled per hour, that could have gotten rain on.

I would call it a 'wash' or even consider charging more for twine wrapped bales.

Naturally, YMMV.

Larry


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Tx Jim said:


> I charge $15 for 4X5.5 to rake & bale. I know you stated "bale only" but I refuse to bale anybodies sorry,narrow not even made windrows. Bad windrows are very difficult to make good looking/level rd bales.


You just ain't kidding there, some people shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the vicinity of a hay rake, ever.

Had a lady I used to bale for in dire emergency's, she'd always get in a hurry with the raking so would end up with these tiny little rows that were all roped together. To make a five foot bale sometimes you'd hav etc stop when it read 56" as the pickup would suck that much more hay in. I was waiting for the day when I could just start a row, then stop and have it pull the entire row in without having to drive across her rough *ss fields. She grew up on the sand in town, then moved out here on the clay, still ain't figured out of your leaving wheel tracks get the hell off the field.

Haven't heard from her in years since last time we talked when I told her $9/bale if I raked, $11/bale if you rake.

Something else about those roped up rows, always had to drive at least a gear slower to avoid plugs.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

mlappin said:


> .... still ain't figured out of your leaving wheel tracks get the hell off the field.....


Totally agree with that, but in all honesty, my fields seem to be damp virtually all of the time. 
I have maybe 2 or 3 fields out of 10 that dry nicely. The rest always seem to be "hay on mud".


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

r82230 said:


> If your time equates to money,
> If your baler has ware, tare & lubing, with revolutions turned,
> If your tractor has depreciation, that effected by time on hour meter,
> If your tractor is 'burning' your fuel.
> ...


He's also charging $2 PER BALE for fuel so if anyone is taking him up on that, he must have something figured out


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

8350HiTech said:


> He's also charging $2 PER BALE for fuel so if anyone is taking him up on that, he must have something figured out


Missed that, good catch.

Larry


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## KYhaymaker (Jun 7, 2018)

JD3430 said:


> Totally agree with that, but in all honesty, my fields seem to be damp virtually all of the time.
> I have maybe 2 or 3 fields out of 10 that dry nicely. The rest always seem to be "hay on mud".


There would literally be no hay baled anywhere in central ky this year if we waited for dry ground. July 4th, and you will STILL leave cleat marks in the field right now. Wettest summer I can remember.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

KYhaymaker said:


> There would literally be no hay baled anywhere in central ky this year if we waited for dry ground. July 4th, and you will STILL leave cleat marks in the field right now. Wettest summer I can remember.


Hear you on that
We really haven't had tons of rain like I remember in past summers. We had massive amounts of rain in May and the ground never really dried out.
Now what happens is we get a 3 day dry spell, then a torrential downpour, and the drying process restarts to end of May all over again.
I baled hay on standing water in some fields this year. Lots of 20% crap been baled up.

I often wanted to ask the embarrassing question: if you make a 23% bale, does it stay 23% for a long time? Like 6 months and then begin to lose some of its moisture? Or does it stay 23% "forever"? 
I baled a field of 20+% last year thinking it was going to be loser hay and when I loaded it to be delivered it about 8 months later, the bales were much lower moisture levels, like 12-15%...didn't know if the moisture dissipated or my baler mounted moisture detector was reading incorrectly.
Also feel like the "wiregrass" type hay won't dry. There's no "airspace" whatsoever.
However, my reeds canary fields, which resemble straw more than hay have a texture to them that gives the appearance they'd allow moisture to escape small air passages.
I dunno, I'm probably "all wet" on that...LOL


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## KYhaymaker (Jun 7, 2018)

Not sure jd, here in Ky when its too wet just get moldy inside or worse, turn black and get hot. Not sure what specific moisture levels cause that but this year there is going to be plenty of musty or moldy hay.


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