# Hourly rate



## mpr128 (Dec 19, 2012)

I make small bales for myself on leased land and for others in New Zealand, so we're in mid summer right now.

I posted a query here recently asking about GPS equipment so I could log how much time I spend at each job. Someone commented that I might find out that custom haymaking earns something comparable to flipping burgers.

Well, I've just finished my first custom hay job and sold the hay off a leased block and logged my time along the way and thought I would share the results.

Custom hay job was mow, ted, row & bale 363 small bales on approx 6.2 acres.
Easy access, flat land, divided into three paddocks.
I charged $3 per bale +tax.
I spent a total of 16 hours on the job (I've included an allowance for travel & equipment changeover on site and fuel). The total ended up at about $63 per hour after direct expenses.
I also measured baling rate and that came out at at 138 to 141 bales per hour.
Not bad for a 40 year old McCormick B47.

The other job was a deal whereby I bought the standing grass for $1 per bale and sold it for $5 per bale behind the baler. I could have got $8 per bale if I hauled it home and sold it in winter.
Very light crop so I spent a reasonable amount of time raking into big rows.
Total of 3.25 hours for 67 bales works out at $73 per hour.

This excludes any allowance for the $NZ35,000 invested in equipment.
It also doesn't count time spent over the past two weeks making & repairing equipment, maintenance costs etc. I realise I need a much larger volume of work to spread these costs across before they become representative of a viable business.

Equipment :
Massey Ferguson 362 tractor
Lely Optimo 240 (6 disc mower)
Kuhn GA300GM rotary rake
McCormick B47 baler (x2)

Food for thought anyway.

Shane


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