From a little different perspective. We make hay and sell some. Run a cow/calf operation. We are tired of everyone that moans and groans about the cost of the hay when we charge $40 or more a roll for mixed grass hay and $50 or more for decent first cutting orchard grass. We start our small square bales at $5.00 now. We have customers that we have had for over 20 years. We know about how much they use, we make sure we have enough for them. We don't gouge them. But we HAVE to make a little "profit" so that we can make a little for our time. We have to hire some help to put up the sq bales. That's not cheap.
Most of the time there is a minimum of $30-35 in a roll. Fertilizer doesn't get any cheaper. Fuel and all too. Land rents keep going up. Bought any equipment lately? The years we get a real good crop, so does everyone else. Then it is cheap. We lose money or feed it to our animals.
Rydero and littletom are right. Rolls have been bringing $30-35 a roll for the last 20 years. It costs more to get it made. We are tired of barely paying for the costs, and our labor is free. When there is a shortage, people come out of the woodwork and then cry about how expensive it is. When there is plenty, you don't see those people cuz they found it for $5 bale less than what you are getting.
We do alot of delivery of the small squares to a couple of these regular customers. We have weeded out the deadbeats. These guys are there to help if they aren't working, and they have a check or cash waiting. For the ones that we have been delivering to regularly, they will call a couple of weeks ahead, say we have xx number of bales left. We will make a delivery, and if they aren't home, they will be on the phone the next day, "how many did you bring and what do I owe you?" There are no complaints, because they know they will get taken care of.
The ones that start calling around, and say wow, that's alot, I got some from so and so, for xx dollars... can you meet that? NOPE go back and get more from them. We have a lady that was referred to us. She came, looked at the hay, PREPAID for 10 rolls up front with the stipulation that she gets one a week. $45 roll. She calls a day or two ahead, asks when we are going to be at the barn. Makes it suit OUR schedule. Loads one in the truck. She just asked if we would have 20 more... we promised her 10 more at this time. We are getting down because last year was a tough year to get it made. Our cows are eating hay like there is no tomorrow this winter. All the cold and wet weather is hard on them.
NOT going to keep giving it away. We only want a fair price. We cover alot of ground and this discbine is already 3 years old. The round balers are more than 10, maybe 15 years old. The square baler is over 20 years old. Just had it worked over. Diesel is 2.60/gal for off road now. We cut, tedd, rake, and bale. If it dries good, sometimes don't have to tedd. At least 3,usually 4 trips over the field. The rakes are all used, a large wheel rake, and small side delivery rake for the cut up fields. I still use the Farmall H to rake the small fields with. Sometimes more trips across, if the weather isn't the best. Last year everything was wet, way over mature, and we struggled to make it decent. Many fields got tedded twice to get it dry.
If you are getting decent hay, be glad. It isn't our fault that it costs to get it made. There isn't alot of good hay around. Many "hay farmers" are trying to get it sold right out of the field so that there is less handling. Round or sq bales, handling makes them more expensive.
We no longer take "cold calls" for hay. You have to be referred by someone because we trust those that do the referring to not send someone to us that is going to hem and haw over it. Or give us a bad check, or get all loaded and say they only have xx dollars with them.
These are some of the reasons that people quit making hay to sell. On top of that, it is hard hot work. We have 1 tractor with air conditioning. 20 years old. You HAVE to use it to cut with the discbine for the protection of the cab. You have to round bale with it or you get so choked up from the dust that you get sick. And a non-airconditioned cab will cook you in the hot summertime. I use open cab and no cab tractors to tedd and rake with. Have an umbrella for a little shade protection.
Add to that, the calf prices are lower here. We can barely get 1.50 lb for feeder steers @ 500 lbs. 1.15 for heifers. If I am going to give away my hay for less than I can make it, I am going to put it in my calves. At least some of the fertilizer that I used on the field, will come back out of the calves and go back on my field.
I get that it is "expensive" to you because the calf prices are low. But it is not expensive when you take a look at the inputs.
Any business that I have ever seen, takes the costs of what it takes to make their product, then adds a percentage to be able to make a profit. Farmers are the only ones who don't . There is something wrong with this picture.
