What is a afir price to pay for custom haying work?

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I live in southeatern Kentucky and was wondering what is a fair price for someone to cut, rake, and bale my hay? It would all be sqaure bales and I would do all the picking up. My pastures are in very good shape and level and there are no gates to deal with.

-- Joel Combs (jwcinpk@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002

Answers

Usually 50/50 on the hay or equivalent.

-- Emil in TN (eprisco@usit.net), May 03, 2002.

Where I'm at in Texas, to cut/rake/bale the square bales (60-65 pounds), it's $1-$1.50 each, depending who's hired. It's an added 75¢ for each bale to be put in the barn. Round bales are $13-$20 each, depending who's hired. The round bales here run 1,000-1,500 pounds.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), May 03, 2002.

I used to do hay--hay was my major crop profit off other peoples land. It was always 50/50 for me !!! I feel it is the fairest proposition for both parties.

-- Joel Rosen (JoelnBecky@webtv.net), May 03, 2002.

Go to your local extension office and they should have a sheet that lists what the normal custom costs are in your area. If you need all of your hay, then by all means just pay custom costs - it is cheaper than having to buy hay.

We have our hay done 50/50 with a neighbor we trust. The first year we lived here we did 50/50 with someone else and we got cheated big time. You need to be there to count the bales before they are moved to make sure you get your HALF and not a quarter as we did the first time. (It was amazing how productive our fields got the next year when we started sharing with the neighbor we have used for 4 years.)

-- beckie (none@this.time), May 04, 2002.


50/50 hay spilts are the easiest to adminestrate but are a not always fair. If you have poor hay it's not fair to the machinery owner, if you have great hay and they are poor operators or don't make quality bales in a timely manner you lose. I've heard 60-40 too, either way. I do two custom baling jobs and want no more. I'd rather share crop to be honest. My prices are in Canadian dollars but average to 2 per bale. Hay's worth 3- 4 per bale. I'd repeat the advice to ask your local extension office or a neighbor or two. Local prices very alot.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), May 04, 2002.


I have someone cut, rake and bale for me in northern Indiana. The price is $8 an acre to cut and rake, $.50 a bale for small squares. I work the wagon or they go on the ground. This works out well. I used to do the 50/50 split and liked it well also. I had 50% less hay to worry about storing, and since the operator was getting half, he wanted his half to be as good as mine.

-- tony a (tertson@hotmail.com), May 05, 2002.

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