Farm Equipment - ot hay ground ??

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ot hay ground ??

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Topic: ot hay ground ??

Posted By: Matt (NEIA)
Subject: ot hay ground ??
Date Posted: 17 Nov 2010 at 11:05pm

I was wondering if anyone out there is makeing a decent living off farming mostly hay ground? I hear of some people making ago with it but around here rent is around $200 an acre and it just seems hard to justify. I would like to give it a shot but am hoping for some input first. any advice is appreciated!

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1955 WD-45 with factory PS

Replies:

Posted By: JohnCO
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2010 at 12:44am

I pay around $65 per acre rent. I cover all costs except the irrigation ditch assessment (around $300 I think). Some years I do quite well, other years, well, not so well. Try to make at least $2. profit per small bale. This year we had lots of rain so there is lots of hay, the barn is full and not selling very fast. Hopefully by mid winter things will pick up. In your part of the country it will be hard to compete with corn and beans unless you can rent some hilly land too steep to row crop. Should be a lot cheaper then $200 per acre. Good luck.

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"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer"
Allis Express participant

Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2010 at 12:49am

I grew hay in my rotation for the N about 20 years ago. I eventually gave it up because the hay income (when the horsy checks didn't bounce) was far less than even poor corn production income and so I bought my N and made more money. Ordinary horses don't need alfalfa at all, so the owners ration it to keep them from bloating and then the horses feel their ribs rubbing together and they eat the stall and the barn when they can't have more hay. They are designed to eat grass hay all day and night to get their bulk and other needs. If they worked all day at plowing or racing they could use the alfalfa. And horsey types are the pickiest about hay mostly without knowing what they really need.

Hay selling for $100 and up a ton was not part of my experience. Nor was selling corn for $4 or 5 a bushel like I did $4.34 at harvest and have some 2011 corn sold for $5.03.

I've quit beans because they haven't been "paying the rent" either. So my new tenant is corn on corn.

I don't think hay will pay on $200 ground that could be producing 200 plus bushels of $4 or 5 corn. Sure the input cost is higher, but the profit isn't there with the hay.

Gerald J.

Posted By: klinemar
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2010 at 5:47am

I raise and sell hay and the previous post's are right.You have to find a market or establish a good customer base.So far I have only had one check bounce in 5 years and it was a small one.If you take hay to an Auction you have the hauling and commission costs also you can advertise in a farm paper but include a service like delivery.In my area we have many Dairy Farmers like myself who have sold their cows but still have hay ground and equipment so the market is getting flooded.Land rent is in the $80 to $150 range so that makes it hard to compete because you have to lock the land in for at least 4 years to make your seeding pay and some farms need lime to get the ph.for hay.Money can be made it just takes management.

Posted By: Good
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2010 at 7:18am

My dad and I have three small patches to bale. Two of them is no rent 4 acres and 8 acres people just want it took care of and the other 10 acres is a buddys we get half of for baling.We get enough hay to feed out three steers and about $1000 dollars worth of hay to sell. I turned down about three more fields people wanting done at no cost or half and half. Not bad for weekend warriors. Around here it's $3.50 to $4.00 a bale for grass and $4.50 or better for alfalfa. Selling can be a pain everybody wants it then you never hear from them again or some buy 10 at a time. Hopfully it's better this winter.

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B212,716,two 314H's,WC,WD,D19,190XT

Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2010 at 9:49am

Yup, people with one rabbit only want one bale to last a couple years.

It was good exercise and when plowed down did raise the OM of the soil that was good for it. But corn and beans make more money where I'm at.

Well corn does, beans are debatable.

Gerald J.

Posted By: Russ-neia
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2010 at 9:57am

Matt, unless we have a dramatic shift in the climate, making DRY baled hay in NE Iowa is nearly impossible. At least not anything that is not bleached or too mature for people to want. We have 130 acres of alfalfa for our dairy and thankfully we can usually chop the majority of 3 cuttings for silage and only have to try to bale 1 cutting. I really enjoy making hay when the weather is right, but the last 10 years or so have really been challenging.

Neighboring farms to us are renting for $320 (NOT a typo!). Don't know why those rates aren't showing up in the state averages. You guys renting 200 bpa corn ground for $150-200 are getting a deal!

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The innovators offer what others will imitate.

Posted By: Matt (NEIA)
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 5:53pm

Thanks for the replies!

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1955 WD-45 with factory PS

Posted By: darrel in ND
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 6:43pm

You guys are going to laugh, but my neighbor let some hay ground go, because twenty-five dollars an acre was too high!