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Where is break even on hay ?

15 an acre to cut and rake, for dry hay, guys here charge about 2 dollars per foot for a 4 foot wide bale, thus a 4 x5 would cost 10 dollars to bale. Risk factor is hard to quantify.
Ben
 
$10.00 seems like it would be awfully high to me (it would be for this area I know) Are you figuring in any thing like maybe a belt breaking or other factors? I know around here the price of twine is going up every year (this past year $50.00 a bale) I don't do net wrap so I don't pay any attention to the price of it. Figure in your fuel & time hauling it home, there shouldn't be any new wagon tires to buy you did that last year LOL. Add it all up and see what you come up with as I know you all ready have and if you can make enough to pay for materials and time Go For It. Didn't say much did I, have a good day Bruce, Keith
 
2 years ago I cut, raked, and baled 25 acres. got 25 bales, cost $20 bale in fuel. last year same field 50 bales, fuel cost $12 a bale. I paid him $20 bale so I thought I did ok as they then cost me $32 on my yard. Most guys are selling for $40+ per bale here and then I would have to truck it home yet. Like this I know what I have and can wrap as silage if the weather is no good.
 
(quoted from post at 09:19:34 02/15/18) 2 years ago I cut, raked, and baled 25 acres. got 25 bales, cost $20 bale in fuel. last year same field 50 bales, fuel cost $12 a bale.
Click to expand...

Please explain your fuel cost per bale calculations. Your fuel cost per bale is very,very high compared to mine. My tractor I cut with uses 2 GPH & my tractor I bale wit uses 3.2 GPH.
 
Might take me a little longer to make hay than some for sure but I'd bet I make some of the lowest cost hay around.My line up for hay equipment.
Cut hay with a 31 HP Yanmar I paid $2000 for 15 years ago and mow with $500 NH 456 mower uses less than 1/2 gallon hr fuel
Rake with a NH 258 rake I bought like new for $1800 20 years ago pulled by a David Brown 780 cost $1200 10+years ago.uses about 1/2 gallon/hr fuel
Bale with a NH 851 round baler paid $500 for it at auction 4 years ago pulled it last year with an Allis Chalmers 185 cost me $1000 2 years ago burns maybe 2 gal/hr
Also have several back up mowing,raking and baling rigs ready to go in case of a break down.
Generally bale 300-400 bales a year.So I'd say my costs run less than $10 bale easily.
Also make a few squares every year with an Oliver 62-T baler that I'm still working on the last of the 4 balls of new twine it had in it when I bought the baler at an auction for $200
And the bonus is I pay nothing for the ground I cut hay on because the landowners I cut for get a huge real estate tax break if its in farm use.
 
In my custom haying business,I charge .75 to bale;.75 to stack with stackwagon;$25.00 to cut/swath. That works out to about $2.00 per bale in average hay.But,I have a hundred dollar minimum,and I wont pick/stack anything less than one full(70 bales) stackload.
 
I?d not be keen to burn up hours on new tractors for less than 30$ a bale. At 20$ you?re just wearing out a tractor for free.
 
"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<font color="#6699ff">where do you put your break even price/cost.[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</font>"

Here is a link on <a href="http://smallbusiness.chron.com/calculate-break-even-price-43438.html">How to Calculate the Break Even Price</a>.

[i:654c4848f0]To calculate break-even price, the company needs to know its total fixed costs, the volume of production and the variable costs per unit.[/i:654c4848f0]

Break Even Selling Price = (Total Fixed Costs <big>/</big> Volume of Production) <big>+</big> Variable Cost Per Unit.

Hope this helps.
 
Not so much looking at the cost per hour on tractors, I think that is right around ten bucks a hour plus fuel. But here about custom hay baling cost , 8-10 dollars per bale. Not real sure about cutting and raking, but when compared against custom rates , you have to figure all labour , fuel cost are calculated into the price
 
I leave home with a full tank of fuel, drive to field and cut 25-30 acres (not sure how big it really is, just take his word for it) by the time I'm home tank is empty and I have added 1 5 Gallon jug in the field. JD 4230. same with baling. Then I use almost a tank for loading and running home to unload as I only have 1 tractor with loader. Bales are 1400 lbs.
Fuel is $4 a gallon or more. If I have to rake it cost more fuel. This year I will use a case tractor and see if that is better on fuel.
 
I need to raise my rates... I do a 10 acre place for $1.50 per bale on the ground.. I dont pick up..usually get about 300-400 bales.. I do this field for a friend that hays but didnt like moving his equipment that far.. Since im in the neighbor hood I do it for him for another guy..

This is my take.. Lets say I get 300 bales at 1.50 per.. that pockets me $450.00 minus fuel, twine, etc..

If I were to do that same 300 bales on a 50/50 share I get 150 bales at my going rate of $5.00 per bale that pockets me $750.00 minus expenses..
 
(quoted from post at 15:20:47 02/15/18) I need to raise my rates... I do a 10 acre place for $1.50 per bale on the ground.. I dont pick up..usually get about 300-400 bales.. I do this field for a friend that hays but didnt like moving his equipment that far.. Since im in the neighbor hood I do it for him for another guy..

This is my take.. Lets say I get 300 bales at 1.50 per.. that pockets me $450.00 minus fuel, twine, etc..

If I were to do that same 300 bales on a 50/50 share I get 150 bales at my going rate of $5.00 per bale that pockets me $750.00 minus expenses..
Click to expand...

Are there any fertilizer costs involved in the 10 acres you are talking about? If so, who pays the costs? Around here, fertilizer costs can run $1.00/ square bale. Mow, ted, rake and bale=$2.50 at least.

Garry
 

Bruce is the 3 bales per acre 1st cut, 2nd cut or average

I also bale 4x5 rolls of grass hay, 1st cut averages 6 bales per acre, 2nd cut averages 2.5 - 3 bales per.
I have made 8+ rolls per acre here on the home farm, average is 7+ but haven't got the fertility up on the other farms I tend which knocks the average down to 6 rolls per.


John
 

For my 6 bale average when I figure in equipment cost with average maintenance cost verses life span of that equipment, labor for one helper plus fuel I have $10 invested in each bale on a 800-1000 bale per year average.
This does not include moving the bales off the field or transporting them to another location. 2 farms I only bale hay off of so it has to be hauled to one of the other 2 farms where I have cattle.

If I gave $10 per standing, cut, raked, baled and hauled to my place I'd be looking at min $22.50 per bale.


John

No matter the amount of hay a field turns off the equipment mowing and raking still makes the same number of rounds around the field so for the 3 bales per your $25 per bale guess would be pretty close.
 
Hi I don't do hay here in Manitoba, but figure on $7.50 a bale when I do string tied 5x6 straw for my hog barns( 2000 tractor and baler paid for but will need updating, me driving everything) , thats just making it and not buying the straw at $4.50 in the field and hauling 18 miles on some guys land 18 at a time. That figure may be raising to $12 a bale this year in the field. At which point i'm in at over the $ i can afford to keep making 1000 bales and hauling them home to put them in the barns.


Maybe you local government ag office has figures for costings. Manitoba had it online when i started looking for custom baling rates, which is going to be the rate I figure it costs me doing the work and fixing what breaks.
Regards Robert
 
(quoted from post at 14:38:37 02/15/18) I leave home with a full tank of fuel, drive to field and cut 25-30 acres (not sure how big it really is, just take his word for it) by the time I'm home tank is empty and I have added 1 5 Gallon jug in the field. JD 4230. same with baling. Then I use almost a tank for loading and running home to unload as I only have 1 tractor with loader. Bales are 1400 lbs.
Fuel is $4 a gallon or more. If I have to rake it cost more fuel. This year I will use a case tractor and see if that is better on fuel.
Click to expand...

Your fuel consumption sounds awfully high for only mowing 30 acres. How big is your fuel tank on that tractor? I could mow all day with our 1855 Oliver and not burn much more than half a tank. Would run either a 9' New Idea 290, or a 14' Hesston 1014+2 depending on chopping or baling, and what crop it was.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
My 10 year average is $12.73 per 4x5 round bale, net wrapped, variable cost (not including depreciation, insurance, taxes, and interest, or a return to capital and management). Last year was 14.70 due to considerably higher repair costs some of which probably should have been capitalized.
 
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