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re: Questions for OT hay farmers.
Posted on 7/21/20 at 8:48 pm to FightingTigers138
Posted on 7/21/20 at 8:48 pm to FightingTigers138
In some cases, people only make hay on land because their localities charge a MUCH lower property tax rate on agricultural land. So, while you're letting that land you bought just outside the city appreciate in value as the city grows toward it until you can sell it for millions, you make hay on it. You save money because you aren't paying to have the grass cut regularly and you make a tiny bit on the bales on top of the big break on the property taxes. Hell, I bet there are some developers that take the agricultural exemption and just tell a rancher that he can come and take all the hay he wants for free (or the minimum required to get the exemption) just so they don't have to deal with it.
This post was edited on 7/21/20 at 8:53 pm
1
Posted on 7/21/20 at 8:51 pm to FightingTigers138
quote:But the cattle biz is.
. Is hay farming heavily subsidized?
Trickledown. And there are pasture improvement plans etc so don’t let this guy bullshite.This post was edited on 7/21/20 at 8:52 pm
Posted on 7/21/20 at 8:58 pm to FightingTigers138
Grew up on a dairy farm. Working in the hayfield sucked. Bad. I mean really bad. I couldn't wait for football two-a-days to practice in 96 degree heat with 80% humidity so I could get out of the hayfield. That's all I got.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 12:53 am to SuperSaint
I knew a guy that had 320 acre hay farm.It was pretty intense,he sprayed for weeds,fertilized the hell out of it.He was raising it for registered horses,race horses and such.Every load he sent samples off to LSU for nutritional analysis.If it didn’t meet the standards he sold it for cow hay and didn’t make as much.
I never asked him how much he made but he seemed to be doing pretty well.
I never asked him how much he made but he seemed to be doing pretty well.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 1:05 am to jdd48
quote:
I've heard from a handful of people that deal in selling hay from their land that it can be very lucrative.
They pay me 1500 bucks a year to cut 20ish acres so I don't have to.
Roughly 6 cuts a year.
I could get more, but the guys are reliable.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 1:08 am to LSUA 75
quote:
I knew a guy that had 320 acre hay farm.It was pretty intense,he sprayed for weeds,fertilized the hell out of it.He was raising it for registered horses,race horses and such.Every load he sent samples off to LSU for nutritional analysis.If it didn’t meet the standards he sold it for cow hay and didn’t make as much.
I never asked him how much he made but he seemed to be doing pretty well.
I grew up in a farming/ranching family and all I can say is frick mowing grass on a mower or tractor and frick stacking square bails all day.
I will say if you’ve stacked enough square bails in a barn to build yourself a clubhouse it’s one fun itchy arse time
Posted on 7/22/20 at 1:23 am to FightingTigers138
You have more than a "just curious" number of questions about hay cutting and hay farming.What's really going on here?
Posted on 7/22/20 at 1:34 am to jdd48
quote:
I've heard from a handful of people that deal in selling hay from their land that it can be very lucrative.
A couple of years ago during the Texas drought Louisiana hay farmers made bank. Then it rained and they were stuck with a bunch of huge round bails sitting in their fields.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 6:29 am to FightingTigers138
Where and what type of hay are you asking about?
There are pure play hay farmers, usually in areas where they can irrigate and the hay season has little rain to interfere with the drying process. Parts of Colorado are like that.
We grew a lot of hay when I lived in Iowa. We got. 3-4 cuttings per season. The hay was alfalfa and we thought in terms of tons per acre not bales. We usually got around 3.5 tons per acre produced for the season. That would be about 3 large round bales an acre or 110 or so square bales.
There are pure play hay farmers, usually in areas where they can irrigate and the hay season has little rain to interfere with the drying process. Parts of Colorado are like that.
We grew a lot of hay when I lived in Iowa. We got. 3-4 cuttings per season. The hay was alfalfa and we thought in terms of tons per acre not bales. We usually got around 3.5 tons per acre produced for the season. That would be about 3 large round bales an acre or 110 or so square bales.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 7:02 am to FightingTigers138
1. Yields are wildly variable. On some of our fields, putting down some 45-0-0 will double yields. Soil type affects yields, as nutrients and water holding capacity are huge factors. Type of grass affects yields.
2. We do 2 cuts on our good fields, 1 on the fields that dont get fertilized and some of those fields should be coated in cow manure for nutrients and tilth. Weeds are a killer in those fields
3. asking price is 4 for 1st cut, 5 for 2nd cut thought some ask 6. Mulch is 3-4. Round bales come in different sizes - we sell 4x5s for 30 a bale but its from the poor fields.
4. No profit for us- just tax advantages. I suppose the irrigated alfalfa guys in Oklahoma make a profit but just guessing
I could not make a living haying- we did 8000 squares in our best year and it takes a toll- Dads lungs were shot after 40 years of this and I have a gentle cough from stacking bales in the loft and working on dust covered equipment during fall clean up. Been at it since 1980- diesel prices have tripled and tractor prices have doubled. But people still want boot stage timothy 1st cut horse hay for $2 bale
2. We do 2 cuts on our good fields, 1 on the fields that dont get fertilized and some of those fields should be coated in cow manure for nutrients and tilth. Weeds are a killer in those fields
3. asking price is 4 for 1st cut, 5 for 2nd cut thought some ask 6. Mulch is 3-4. Round bales come in different sizes - we sell 4x5s for 30 a bale but its from the poor fields.
4. No profit for us- just tax advantages. I suppose the irrigated alfalfa guys in Oklahoma make a profit but just guessing
I could not make a living haying- we did 8000 squares in our best year and it takes a toll- Dads lungs were shot after 40 years of this and I have a gentle cough from stacking bales in the loft and working on dust covered equipment during fall clean up. Been at it since 1980- diesel prices have tripled and tractor prices have doubled. But people still want boot stage timothy 1st cut horse hay for $2 bale
Posted on 7/22/20 at 7:06 am to FightingTigers138
Lots of factors. The folks who actually make a living on hay both irrigate and fertilize the Hell out of it. Hardly comparable to someone like me who fertilzes once and relies on rain. They get twice my yield or more.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 7:38 am to TigerstuckinMS
In those cases it is straw rather than what people would buy as hay. I well remember the days in Houston where there were vacant lots in downtown and owner would fence off, throw in a few bales, and water trough with one cow and claim pasture land for much lower property taxes.
I only worked throwing bales of straw onto a wagon back as a kid. Cattle grazing in the field was the only fertilizer. One cutting a year
My ex in laws used to pay extra from a hay grower who had his fields, water leveled and limed then planted Coastal Bermuda. The owner did this as a sideline job to being a clerk/checker union baw at the docks in Lake Chuck. Extra money for him plus he grew up on a farm and liked doing it. It was around a 100 acres.
I only worked throwing bales of straw onto a wagon back as a kid. Cattle grazing in the field was the only fertilizer. One cutting a year
My ex in laws used to pay extra from a hay grower who had his fields, water leveled and limed then planted Coastal Bermuda. The owner did this as a sideline job to being a clerk/checker union baw at the docks in Lake Chuck. Extra money for him plus he grew up on a farm and liked doing it. It was around a 100 acres.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 7:44 am to FightingTigers138
In B4 “belongs on hay board”.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 8:01 am to FightingTigers138
Thanks to the hay farmer that my cousins bought hay for their two milks cows and stacked in the barn. My first attempt at fricking was with a neighbor gal of my cousins. I say attempt because I was 8 and not developed enough to get anything out of it other than experience for later on
Posted on 7/22/20 at 8:07 am to FightingTigers138
quote:That's the figure I've always heard, and yes that's profit after operating costs etc. That would be if the land is owned outright with no mortgage or lease. Others would probably know better but that's the amount I've heard over the years. It's also like any other commodity, price/profit fluctuates of course.
This is profit? So hay farming is not a viable stream of revenue to support a farm? They would need to do something else also?
Posted on 7/22/20 at 8:13 am to FightingTigers138
Many people grow hay to take advantage of lowered property taxes since their 30 acre estate is being used in agriculture.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 8:25 am to FightingTigers138
quote:
I've been touring Oregon for the last couple weeks, for work, and have seen a lot of farms that look to be only hay farm
Oregon, and other western states (Idaho, Washington, California), can grow timothy, alfalfa, and orchard grass hay under irrigation that is very high in quality - namely protein, TDN, etc. They sell hay by the ton, anywhere from $150 - $250 per ton, and it's a lucrative business with a high cost of entry (barns, scales, flakers, presses, tractors and equipment) and a lot of work. Annual yields out there can be > 5 tons per acre.
You've got some big players in Anderson Hay and Grain and Standlee Hay Company that sell premium hay and do really well. In the south, hay is primarily bermuda, bahia, orchard grass (in the upper south), and fescue. Prices are good, but not as good as western premium alfalfa. That stuff goes by the truckloads to big dairies in California, Nevada, etc.
There's a living to be made in hay and a good one. But it's like anything else in farming - high cost of entry and you have to make relationships and know how to play the game and divert tax liability. Farming is a wonderful way to build long term wealth and a tough way to make a year to year living.
Most of the guys you're seeing out there have figured out how to build wealth while appearing poor.
Posted on 7/22/20 at 8:47 am to stickly
quote:
Many people grow hay to take advantage of lowered property taxes since their 30 acre estate is being used in agriculture.
This is where the guys that hustle hay seem to make their profit but all claim it’s a loss. Many many rural estates have guys cut their hay for free or ‘pay’ guys to cut their hay just to have their camps/ estates cut. Many guys will get a round of hay for free for their hand full of cows and the harvester gets the other cuts.
ETA: but as said hay has tons of variables from the soil to the type of grass. So you’d have to be very specific to get a reasonable idea.
This post was edited on 7/22/20 at 8:49 am
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