EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

 What do ya'll think the average price for round bales is gonna be this year? Im thinking between $75 and $100 for good clean hay.

My buddy day works and he was working for a guy in ozona and he was paying 90 a bale last week.

i think its goin to be way over 100

I'm already seeing clean hay on craigslist anywhere from $75-$125

found some yesterday for 45.00 for last cutting last year and 55.00 this years clean coastal.  but have seen some around here for 75.00 also. bought some milo stalks mixed with johnson for 25.00 a roll not the best but the cows eat it.

The hay isn't the problem, its the freight that eats your lunch.  You can count on $20-30 a bale for freight.

I sold my baler couple months ago I'm not bailing any this yr, but I'm Pickin up 50 rolls this week for 45$ a roll... It's Gettin on up to 65-75$ a roll tho. I oughta get into the hay freight business at 30$ a roll for delivery... Was that a misprint?

3 weeks ago i payed 70 a role for 15 rolles

Noelle,
      I don't think Matt is talking about hauling from field to barn, or within the same county. Pretty sure he's talking OTR freight.  I've got a fair amount of 5x6 rolls bought at $40.00, but it's gonna be $60.00+ by the time I get them hauled 150 miles, whether I pay a semi, or I put them on a 12 bale van and haul them myself.

I remember $100.00 hay in 1996 and diesel was only a buck. Now diesel and fertilizer are sky high... I bet we see plenty of $125.00 hay this year, especially this winter.

i dont know were yall come from but there is still a few honest hay farmers around like myself.I sold  my hay for 40 a bale. when my neighbor is gettin 85 a bale. But i remember when i didnt have nothin commin out of high school feedin a few horses and calves we had a dry year and they were gettin a 100 a bale. Right then i vowed if i ever got in the hay business that i would take care of people like myself. We got a sayin about this sort of thing i call it a 'do gooder'  Do gooders never win but i can sleep at night. i dont know if im stupid or not but people always com back to buy more hay.

derbettis,

   What size bales are you making?

yea i got burned like that two time got over there and they had 4-5s. i have 6-5 coastal hay real clean but its hard to keep it on hand.

Yeah the $30/roll was 18 wheeler loads coming out of OK, about 500 miles.  I met with a man today that had some decent looking big rolls in his hay lot 5x6 net wrapped and he payed $85 a roll delievered for them and he said the next load he got would be more than that.

Derbittis I assume you dont have any of that that isn't bought do you?

Pm Sent

I feel for ya'll down in Texas. Here in NE OK prices are still low. We just got 25 bales at $30 dollars a piece. We only bought that much this time because he said if we dont get any rain, the price is going to go up as its not looking good for a second cut this year.  If anyone is interested I can talk to the man we get our hay from and see if he is willing to haul to Texas and how much it cost. He cuts a ton of fields and everything we have ever got from him has been good. I know he hauls a bunch around this side of Oklahoma, but dont know if he would be willing to haul to TX.  But it wouldnt hurt me to ask.  I coudn't imagine having to pay $100 a bale.

Oh ok that makes since ya otr freight is pretty pricy with fuel prices   I been Gettin it within an hr from the house on my 40' and it cost some fuel but can haul quite a few rolls

I was NOT looking for this topic to come up yet... I found late last years for 25 and this years 35-40. We just got an inch and a half of rain.. finally!! I was starting to see how yall do things in Texas lol.

i cut our hay the other day and we figured the price up on it and with fert. and the price to cut and bale we had 82 dollars a bale

Well Ben from what I can tell it will be between 90-110 for good fertilized coastal.  I may be way wrong though.  Wheat straw started out at 45 a roll.  There is also not many "clean" pastures around here.  Few people fertilized, shoulda but didn't,nor did they spray weeds, or grasshoppers. So were gonna have to get that hay from somewhere else. I have been burning the rubber on my tires hauling hay up and down the highway so far.  It kinda slowed down right now with alot of folks selling cows.  But here in a few weeks its gonna take off again.

Hey Mod
Where do you live? I live in Hammon. I might be interested in some of that hay if he still has some. Is it plains or native grass or what?
Thanks, Daniel

Sold over 500 rolls of mixed grass hay over last few weeks for $30 to $40 a roll depending on quality for 4x5 1/2 netwrapped bales. Put on Dallas area craigs list for one day only and my phone is still smoking ;D. All out now next cutting not looking very promising.

family ended up goin to pennsylvania to get hay $40 bucks a roll

Daniel, I am in Coweta, but our hay guy is in Wagoner. I honestly dont know exactly what the hay is, but I know it is always super clean and bright, and our horses love eating it and look real good on it.  He has never done us wrong.  I think I will give him a shout tomorrow just to see what his situation is. Like I said I think we are doing good right now up this way because everywhere I drive right now I see people cutting, or bales sitting in pasture, but the future isnt looking real good if we dont get some rain.  I'l let you know what he has to say.

i dont know were yall come from but there is still a few honest hay farmers around like myself.I sold  my hay for 40 a bale. when my neighbor is gettin 85 a bale. But i remember when i didnt have nothin commin out of high school feedin a few horses and calves we had a dry year and they were gettin a 100 a bale. Right then i vowed if i ever got in the hay business that i would take care of people like myself. We got a sayin about this sort of thing i call it a 'do gooder'  Do gooders never win but i can sleep at night. i dont know if im stupid or not but people always com back to buy more hay.  

I am a Do Gooder also, a do gooder for my family and my stock.  Including fertilizer and baling I have $175/ bale in my hay this year. Yeah that is not a misprint, made a whopping .6 bales to the acre.  So does that mean that I need to sell my hay for 40/ bale.  The market is up because the cost is up and the supply is down.  Due to no rain.  I have raised hay, jockeyed hay, custom farmed. My margin was always the same. Just because the hay is 100/ roll doesnt mean the people selling it are making a killing. They are probably actually losing money.  Not trying to be a D**K, just saying if the farmers were to "help" everybody out, then they wouldnt be in business long.

I baled alot of hay and never been nowhere near 175$ a roll into it... Why would anybody cut a field with grass that thin... Makes no since to me to get that far into debt because nobodys gonna pay that much for it and u could just buy hay alot cheaper without the hassle.. Cow hay still 35-45 a roll and good horse hay 65-75 average around here. Guess lucky for us in this area that there is some honest folks and not just hay peddlers ;D

its real simple to get that far in "debt" with it. $16000.00 hay bailer, $35000.00 tractor, $25000.00 tractor, $10000.00 cutter, $2500.00 rake, $2500.00 trailer, $35000.00 truck, $2-5000.00a year in repairs, and the best for last......$4.00 gallon for fuel.

add all that together and then factor in NO RAIN and .5 bails and acre. you dont have to be a "hay peddler" to figure out we are fighting a loosing battle, but you are guaranteed that the bank still wants their share.

Well I'm sure that sounds great but number one hay equipment is cheaper than that during this dry time, and for two u can't figure the price of hay based on how much Ur equipment cost unless u average out the harvest on the good years and the bad for the life of the equipment and then most folks already have trucks trailers and tractors and such to begin with so that's a factor to some extent but not an affecting factor when Ur talkin about buying hay equipment to go into business in a drought... The fuel is the big factor, but farm diesel is 3.50 so helps a little to run red fuel. New trailer for 2500 and new bailer for 16000? That's a deal... There was never a question about goin into debt if Ur just startin out bailin hay and then the drought... But to figure in the full price of Ur equipment into how many bales u roll plus fertilizer and fuel and .5 rolls per acre is a little excessive... It would have to sell for 200$ a roll on a wet year in that perspective... Hope u see what I'm sayin without taking it as me being a d&@$ about it cuz that's not my intention

our hay equipment wasnt purchased during the drought, but we didnt pay cash for it either. we still have a yearly farm note to make and the bank dont care if we sell any hay or not. i can honestly say that we have never sold a bale of hay for over $50. we cut most of our hay on halves with land owners. this keeps us in good standings with other land owners and it also keeps us from having to sign lease agreements. we keep what hay we need and sell the rest. just like most everybody else, we aint selling any hay this year.

we rolled a field the other day that last years first cutting it made 125 rolls and the the second cutting made 78 rolls. this year the first cutting made 18 rolls and there want be a second. I dont blame any farmer for trying to sell hay for what he has to to make ends meet. its all in supply and demand. we demand fuel, fuel companies suply it. they get to set the price. thats just how it works.

Well over here in the wonderful California we don't have roll bale but alfalfa small (which is usually 100 pound bale) bale is going for about $18 a bale.  $230-$265 a ton. Some people are even paying $22 a bale delivered.

I know just what u mean I use to cut alot on halves and sold alot of hay and did custom bailin and for me it was obvious a few months ago that I could buy hay cheaper than I could roll it so I got out this year... I was lucky enough to have made it good weldin on pipelines that my place and trucks tractors dozers and all my farm equipment was paid for cash so I don't have all the overhead... I know the bank still wants their note and u gotta do what u gotta do to make it so can't blame nobody for raisin prices on hay to stay with the goin rate... Just sayin 175$ a bale is a little steep for any area

i dont think he was meaning that he charged $175 a bale to sell it...I may be wrong but i thought he was cutting his own hay and figuring it cost him $175 a role out of his own pocket. that qouldnt be hard to do by the time you figure equipment notes, fertilizer, leased property, etc etc....you can get that deep in a hurry. I dont know anybody that would buy hay for $175 a role, if you do, give them my number cause i'm selling out the barn. lol

Yes he means he has that much in each roll we have had no rain and who did make a first cuttin is not going to get another here.  My boss is out bad on sorghum this year had just enough to make it come up and the faucet shut off. If u live with in 20 or so miles of stephenville you have not seen any rain.

I agree if you know somebody that is paying 175/ bale then let me know.  What I was saying is that I had that much in it.  Mainly in fertilizer. Then by the time I pay for fuel, labor, wrap, and alittle for wear and tear, it doesnt take long to add up.  And as far as not cutting it, I could have turned in on it, but I know where the cows would have camped out also.  So I decided to bite the bullet and cut it and at least get some hay before the grasshoppers and heat destroyed it.  It doesnt matter if you paid cash or have a note on your equipment or if you are custom farming or ranching, what ever you are doing it is a business.  I personally am not in it for my health, and even though I enjoy it, I am in it to make money. Therefore I decided to have something at least for my money invested. Let me know what equipment dealer yall use because mine doesnt care if it is a drought or not.  It cost them the same to make the equipment and the get it hauled in no matter if I am getting rain or not. JMO and experience

Thompson farm and ranch services. Send me a message if Ur serious about buying equipment if I don't have it I can usually get it very far below retail and especially hay equipment rite now. Although I can't tote the note for u I can save thousands of dollars. And I agree I don't get outta bed even for free ain't no need doin it if not gonna make money which is why I bought hay instead of bailing... But it's all part of that easy life of not havin a real 40 hr a week job with a steady check, instead it's more like 4am to 11pm 7 days a week just to b in the negative at the end of the month but I still wouldn't trade it for nothin and ya this yr is bad but gotta take the good with the bad mite take a while to recover the losses but it's the life we chose. I'd b glad to help with anyone needin cow hay but my sources are limited for horse hay rite now. Only advice I have is to pray for rain!!! I hate to hear y'all havin that much into Ur hay crop I do wish y'all the best of luck :(

Talked to my hay guy this morning here in NE OK, and he said everything he has or is cutting is either already sold or spoken for.  Everyone is buying up  now to stock up because they know its not looking good on down the road.  Said he is doing all he can to try and find more properties to cut to keep up with all the calls he has coming in. He said he has been doing this for 15 yrs around here, and this could be one of the worst years ever. We got good rain early in the season to make for a good first cut, but it has been super dry here as of late, so he says a second cutting isn't looking good at all. I feel bad for ya'll down in TX who have been drier than we are.

i like this ''do gooder''we need more people like you my friend.i give 65.00 a roll for some cow hay the otherday that is'nt worth a crap.AND I BET YOU CAN LOOK AT YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR.

when it started getting hott i was paying 50 dollars a roll the guy ran out now im getting the big squares fofr 70 a square what do yall think do the big square bails have as much hay and this hay has been in my pasture 3 weeks still not gone the round bails wwould be gone in a week and a half to two weeks from four horses this number 2 is pitaful

I have never fooled with the big squares. What do they weigh. I know that our bailer is set at 1100 pounds. I have seen heavier and lighter 5x6 rolls but most of the people we cut for have smaller tractors and the front end loaders only have 1500lb capabilities.

hmm i dunno i kno it took a chain rapped around it to pull it off the trailer the rope broke it was heavy

The big squares come in 3x3,3x4,and 4x4... The 3x3 alfalfa squares I buy usually weight between 800-900#.    If you were breaking ropes, and seem to have more hay than a 4x5 roll, I would assume you have a 4x4 square.

If my math is correct, a 3x3 square at 850#, would convert to a 4x4 at 1511# per bale.

Circle c- are they 3x3 square or how does it work. I've seen the big squared but the ones I saw were probably 3 tall 3deep and about 6 long. I've never bailed alfalfa but I've bought the small squares. It always seemed to be quite a bit heavier than pasture grass we have here

I call them squares. But yes, they are rectangle.  They ones I call 3x3x7, are actually about 34"x34"x80".   They will fit 3 wide on a 102" flatbed without any overhang.

I have bought alfalfa, and alfalfa grass mix, but don't recall ever buying any straight grass squares.

Best thing about them for me, is that I can pack a barn full of hay, without the wasted space of rolls.

Yeah I can see where they would haul and store easier. Will ur front forks move them. The guy that I knew that bought some was moving them with a bobcat

I move them with a bobcat, or tractor, using either pallet forks or hay forks.  I prefer the hay fork when lifting higher up, but I'll just use whatever piece of equipment I have handy that doesn't have a bucket on it.   Here's a pic of some hay forks I built last year. They work fine, but I think for people handling large squares all the time, a 3 spear setup is preferred.

(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p204/ccoughran/437a638b.jpg)

ya i like it my horses look good they eat it everyday its still not completely gone and they got alot of hay to them but imma measure the next one and ask the guy what he thinks the weight is

Austin, I was going to say the same thing. With the taxes on our land, the cost of fertilizer, the cost of paying hands to help put it out, spray the fields for army worms and weeds, cost of the tractors, equipment, and the diesel it takes to keep them going all day, cost of barns to put the hay in, time it takes to put it up, lack of rain and the fact that our cows still have to have enough hay to eat and we need money to feed ourselves... I'll be D*MNED is someone is gunna say I'm not an honest farmer! I'm starvin to death! I work 24/7 in the oilfield so I can afford to make hay!

And by the way, we haven't even sold a round bail this year. I gave a few to a couple of my starving friends. If we were to sell some it would have to be WELL OVER $80 a bail or we would just be making ourselves broke and hungry. I'd rather work hard and put up a lot of hay and have money in my pocket to take care of my family than give hay away and be hungry and not have anything to feed my cows in the winter time. If someone wants to complain about the price, go ahead and bail your own hay and I'll keep my hay in the barn and raise more cattle. If you want fat cows it costs money.

We've got close to 400 acres of pasture with over 200 cows, over 100 yearlings, probly 25 bulls, and a few horses. Got one big coastal field and the rest is Tifton 85 and Jiggs. It takes a sh*t load of chicken sh*t and way more rain than we've gotten so far this year to make grass grow on our little dry sand hill. A field that we normaly make close to 100 bails in one cutting has made 2 1/2 this year. Supply and demand is a b*tch but it's the cold hard truth.

2-1/2 when it usually makes 100?  I know it's a drought, but damn... that sounds extremely low by comparison to previous years.  I've heard of people going from 3 per acre to .5 per acre, but never a field that would produce 100 down to 2.5...  I wouldn't even bale the field for that little yield, I'd just buy the hay.

We cut a 100 acres of Sudan and it only made 21 bales  and don't look like there will be another cut

We've got close to 400 acres of pasture with over 200 cows, over 100 yearlings, probly 25 bulls, and a few horses. Got one big coastal field and the rest is Tifton 85 and Jiggs. It takes a sh*t load of chicken sh*t and way more rain than we've gotten so far this year to make grass grow on our little dry sand hill. A field that we normaly make close to 100 bails in one cutting has made 2 1/2 this year. Supply and demand is a b*tch but it's the cold hard truth.
[/quote]

325 cows and a few horses on 400 acres... that mite be why need so much hay and get 2.5 rolls instead of 100... Surely that was a misprint I agree why even bother cuz 2.5 rolls won't feed 325hd very long at all just wasted time and fuel.. Jmo... Ive always felt that good fortune comes to those that help others... I'd give my last roll to my neighbor for free if he needed it and I'd go pay 100$ a roll for myself if need be... Sure Supporting my family comes first but not to the point to where I'm an a$$ about Helpin someone out... If it cost me that much to b in the cow business to where I just worked to pay for hay I guess I'd downsize my cattle... Which I did when I chose not to bale hay this year because I knew it was too dry for me to invest in baling what little grass there was... All personal preference I suppose but I prefer a less stressful life and any grown man is entitled to make his own choices whether their good or bad. Wish the best for all y'all that are struggling with the hay situation I know it's hard times