Just wondering...

My buddy is baling his place today. We were wondering about current prices for;

1) hauling square bales and

2) price for square bales in the field.

He hauls his own square bales but has sold some in the field in the past. This is in the northeast Texas area.

Thanks in advance.

Horse grade coastal bermuda? I'm paying $10 in the field and $12 delivered/stacked for very heavy fertilized clean bales. With all the rain we've had I suspect prices will come down as everyone should have a banner crop. Mine is from North Texas.

...I was afraid this was going to a thread about how to stack bales to maximize the number of illegals you can get in the traitor.

8-10 in the field around here.

Curious about rolled hay. Coastal Bermuda, but was not fertilized and was not hit with a broadleaf weed killer either. If someone else comes and cuts it, How much would you expect to get paid for it as a land owner this year?

Have him do it on the halves.

I don't understand.

He will cut and roll it. He keeps half, you get half.

Breakpoint is way too far out there IMO - also I hear that many of these companies that sell this and provide warranties go out of business regularly

Neighbor is getting $8 in the field for squares

$130 for round bales

No custom hay baler with any sense will bale unfertilized, unsprayed hay on halves. You will be lucky to get 2/1 shares with the amount of rain we are having, making for a good crop. We can bale better hay for a better share.

I own a custom hay baling business, bale close to 1500 acres and I only bale most fields like that for 100% of the hay , keeps the landowner in ag exemption. I do have 2 fields that arent sprayed of fertlized I bale on 2/1 shares but they are over 120 acres each.

How many cuttings are you guys looking to get this year? We’re hay poor this year with all the rain which has been literally insane.

Yup.

When I had guys doing my hay work, I got 1/3 of the hay, or the dollar amount of 1/3 of the hay. They needed the hay, so they paid me 1/3. Make 150 bales, they paid me for 50 bales.

I bought my own equipment last year. Neighbor to the east needs the hay. When she asked how much, I said whatever market value is. My 2022 September cutting was worth 40% more than my July cutting. Because we had a by golly drought, and hay prices soared.

Dang - $130 this year seems pretty high but I think you're out West vs etx.

I'm paying $70 for jiggs that's fertilized and sprayed.

One of you farmers figure out how to grow Alfalfa, we are paying $30 a bale for three strand squares.

I think I'd have to put in an irrigation system. Not sure.

We have 2 neighbors growing it with pivots but those biatchez are crazy expensive thus the reason Alfalfa costs as much as it does. I priced one back in 2019 and the estimate was $130k without well or lake to supply it.

That's what I thought.

And I don't have enough open space to install one.

Our neighbor in Oklahoma said he paid close to half a million for his giant pivot and the lake to run it. I can’t make the numbers come out with the expensive involved upfront but I sure do enjoy hunting that tree line between us and that pivot.

You gotta sell a whole lot of hay to recover half a million.

And you still have even more input costs to cover.

An old Farmer won the lottery. The news reporter asked what he's going to do now. The farmer said "I guess I'll keep farming as long as the money holds out."

By the time you pay for the water to grow it, you're better off growing a more profitable crop.

I’ll get 3 cuttings out of my fertilized fields , 2 from all the others , maybe 3 if rain comes in right but it won’t be as much as previous cuttings this year. The first field I baled this year could actually be cut again now. I’ll let it grow another few weeks since we got more rain this week.

We are being paid $5 per round bale, baling about 90 acres. Same guy bales hay for a couple of the neighbors as well. Don't know what round bales are going for, but it sounds like we are getting much less than 1/3.

If it only made 100 bales you get $500 bucks and this day and age he's giving it away for $50/bale (probably about a $1,500-2,000 profit on his end after his fuel and baling costs since there aren't any other inputs like herbicide or fertilizer) if it's somewhat clean - or he's feeding it to his cows for cheap.

If it's keeping your property in AG + somewhat tamed and you're good with it then probably a fair deal for you. Otherwise - not a great deal IMO.

Here in Mineral Wells we aren't making much hay this year. Too dry. First cutting was great but second is looking piss poor. Looks like we will be buying to make the end of the year again. Probably going to need 100 round bales to break even. What are you guys getting for 4x5 or 5x6 rounds?