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Round bales.

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Sam Womer (PA)

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I am not a farmer but I do have a garden and several tractors, a backhoe and a dump truck. Never farmed, I drove a n Allis Chalmers G when I was about 12 years old for a local farmer pulling a hay wagon while he loaded square bales by hand. That was 68 years ago. Now I wonder what a bale of hay costs and how much you need to pay for a large round bale. Any educated guesses? TIA. Sam Womer(PA)
 


Sam it varies widely by region. I am in southern NH supplying to an extremely tight horse stable market. My prices run well over double what they are in areas where more hay is produced. To get a meaningful idea you could try a market bulletin for your area.
 
Hay is a funny commodity. There is dairy hay, which would be a high protein legume hay. Then there is horse hay, more grass content but must be very green and not dusty. And finally hay for beef cows, which can be anything in the spectrum. Wet wrapped silage bales for dairy feed can cost $75-$100.00 for a 4x4 round bale weighing just around 1000lb, but this is an exclusive market. Just as horse hay in small square bales, 50lb bale $6-$8.00 each depending on pickup/delivery. Just a ordinary bale of dry hay 4x4 round off the field can be bought $40-$45.00 . During winter same hay from inside storage $60.00. Price is really all over the map, and mostly depending on availability
 
I don't do idiot cubes. I do 4x4 bales and thry're selling for about 40per bale. I'd rather sell by the ton nobody will buy it that way here. A few of the big dairies are buying by the tone on Chopped hay and corn and some buy big square bales by the ton here.
 
I paid 165 a ton in wrapped dry 4x4 bales last year. that was for two semi loads. I think it is higher this year. $5 per small bale is not uncommon around here, no one makes them anymore.
 
Sam, assuming your screen name means you reside in Pennsylvania. As Showcrop sez, price vary widely (id say wildly) depending on region. Decent 1st crop square bales coming off farms in PA are close to $5. Round bales come in different sizes. I would guess the most common size you would see around in PA is 4x5. Close to $45 on those. If you are REALLY curious and live in the central/eastern parts of the state, spend a couple bux on a copy of Lancaster Farming newspaper.
 
Must be a good hay market where you're at - your figure is nearly double what it is for premium small-bale horse hay here in Kansas. Good alfalfa (but less than horse quality) in large bales is currently between $150 and $200 with grass hay going for around $100/ton in our area.
 
The answer is simple. Whatever a seller is asking for and a buyer is "willing" to pay.. Here In Illinois, that means people are greedy. No matter what they're overhead is they still want $100 + on a round bale. Whether it's ditch grass or alfalfa. That's the main reason I bale my own now. Cheaper to buy equipment than buy hay. There are the few exceptions out there though that charge what hay is actually worth.
 
Been dry here and the hay crop so far is way down. If that keeps up hay will be way up. I'm hoping to get $8 or more for those square bales I put up last week if I get enough hay so I can sell them. Rounds were down to $45 each recently but are going up again now. Won't surprise me to see them well over $100 next winter.
 
(quoted from post at 21:07:44 06/14/21) The answer is simple. Whatever a seller is asking for and a buyer is "willing" to pay.. Here In Illinois, that means people are greedy. No matter what they're overhead is they still want $100 + on a round bale. Whether it's ditch grass or alfalfa. That's the main reason I bale my own now. Cheaper to buy equipment than buy hay. There are the few exceptions out there though that charge what hay is actually worth.
Click to expand...

The "greedy" door swings both ways. There are greedy buyers too, who think "what hay is actually worth" is $1-$2 for small squares and $10-$20 for a 1000lb round bale.

Overhead is irrelevant. There is a market price for hay like any other commodity. The incentive for operating with low overhead is (hopefully) a profit.
 
I've been getting $6 a bale for mixed grass and trefoil the last two years. In '19 I started having it custom baled and the guy said that was the going rate for small squares. I thought that was too high and lost a few steady customers but ended up selling it all for that price and again this year. Nice profit at under $2.50 cost.
 


Sam, don't go for the over simplistic view that some people give that just because one person is willing to pay $20.00 a bale and seller is willing to take it, it makes it a fair price or a going price.
 
The "greedy" door swings both ways. There are greedy buyers too, who think "what hay is actually worth" is $1-$2 for small squares and $10-$20 for a 1000lb round bale.

Overhead is irrelevant. There is a market price for hay like any other commodity. The incentive for operating with low overhead is (hopefully) a profit.[/quote].

Greed has nothing to do with it on the buyers side. Yes there are morons out there that will nickel and dime because they're just complete jack***es. But hay suppliers don't help themselves. Price it right and get it off the rack or out of the barn. Seen several stubborn hay guys move ten squares at a time once a week because they're hay was $7 a bale. Don't like it, lower your price or don't complain. Horse folks will sell they're stock before paying an arm and a leg. You will price yourself out of business once there is no demand. Overhead isn't irrelevant. There are the guys who advertise "made with John Deere equipment" as if the price should be more. If you're baler and my baler make the same bale and my baler is cheaper and older but yours is brand new and costs $30,000 why should the buyer pay more for that bale?
 
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