Square bales.

Question

Just curious if anyone is running square balers and do you sell the bales? Thoughts in general about selling them? Considering it as a way to get started farming/side project from my current job.

Answer

Located in Northeast Illinois
 best is by phone ************
 Turnkey - automated hay and horse bedding business for sale!
 *************
 www.GalushaFarm.com

Answer

Hello,
 Call me anytime, if you want to talk. I built a profitable ag production business selling hay. 
 *****
 www.GalushaFarm.com

Answer

This past year was the worst for making hay, It rained every 4 or five days by the bucket full.   I could get the hay down and drying but the ground stayed wet all summer.  Don't be afraid to mow it down and leave it in the field if you cannot harvest good hay. That will keep it from going stemmy and going to seed and it"s not worth the imputs that you have to replace taking low quality hay off of the field

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My wife and I farm about 110 acres exclusively equine quality small square bales. We started about 7 years ago with 50 acres as a side gig and and have grown the acreage and developed a loyal local customer base now. We market them usually thru Facebook marketplace and/or Craigslist. We sold every one of the 4500 bales we made this year (except for the 120 we kept for our own horses 🐴😎). We also do a few hundred mini bales (12-14 lbs) for a niche small pet market with a customized new Holland baler.
 Between the 6 fields, irrigation and keeping up old and well worn equipment running it's a full time job mid May thru mid October and I absolutely love it. 
 Give it a whirl, but as stated above, if you want premium price you gotta be on top of it time wise.  When it's go time it's go time, and you gotta get it down, cured, baled and back off the field before any rain.

Answer

I sell square bale wheat straw.  I have a market close to higher population areas that like good quality straw.  Some gets used as bedding for horses, but majority ends up being used by landscapers and others as ground cover for lawns/landscapes and then some for decoration.  If you're close to a larger city, you might be able to do this.  I mechanized everything, so I don't have to touch a bale.  I agree with the person that said have a good baler

Answer

I have a 800 acre mid-sized hay production business, that is a turn key business for sale!
 It is 43 years old business.
 I am 72 years old and will be retiring.
 My guys want to stay with the business!
 Great opportunity for the right guy!

Answer

After dairy farming I still had my baling equipment, since it was not worth much to sell, and now I still bale grass waterways and some old grass pasture to sell to locals that have small hay needs. A lot of people only have a few animals and don't want big bales. I call it my winter unemployment income since I have off farm seasonal work.

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It can be very profitable if you have a customer base that will pay a premium for good quality hay.  I would caution you about using it as a side gig.  Producing high quality hay requires top management and rigid time requirements.  A matter of a few hours can cost you a lot.  If the hay is ready to cut or bale today, you need to do it today not tomorrow.  You won't make any money making cow hay.  I currently have about 350 acres of alfalfa hay and sell it all.  It is extremely hard to time the dry down of hay.  Hay mowed on day one may bale day two, three, four or longer under poor drying conditions. I don't want to discourage you, but my point is you need to be really dedicated and flexible to make hay farming work.  I make more money on my hay per acre than any other crop. I have been doing it for over 30 years.

Answer

We sell square bales to local horse/sheep/goat type folks. We don't do a huge volume and it's not a huge moneymaker, but it does pay for itself and a bit more, and older equipment that is well maintained makes it so it doesn't cost much to produce. Mostly just a way to keep some land clean that doesn't get used for anything else. We are in an area where there is not very much farming happening anymore. The customer base locally tends to be pretty flaky - if they say in advance thay they will be wanting to buy some, you definitely need a bit more than just their word - but there are a couple that have been repeat customers for years. Mileage may vary. Make sure you have a decent place to store the bales. You definitely need to be flexible with your time, and it is drop everything else and go time when you get a window of good weather to make some good hay.

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Hay is a tough business but can be very beneficial in helping to grow into a farm operation. That’s a big key that helped us start. The hardest part at least in our area is getting people to load the squares which is why we purchased accumulation and loading equipment. Be careful to produce good quality hay as that is a huge key to squares well most all hay. Don’t forget that your time is not free so make sure to charge fairly but don’t short change yourself. Remember to take care of your customers, that little old lady that buys a few every year will be loyal and get you more sales than advertising and not taking care of the small guys only going after big guys. Most big guys shop around a lot and don’t tend to be loyal, it’s a balancing act between the frustration of loading a few for the small guys and trying to compete to keep the big guys business. We found purchasing old van trailers are better for storage and the perk is they don’t get taxed like a barn does.  Always be upfront about your hay quality and don’t bet the farm on it, no rain no hay too much rain and no quality hay. Timing is everything. Time off from work, holidays and vacations never seem to line up well with the weather for making hay. If you start small you can absorb a bad year but jump off big with huge equipment payments can bankrupt you which is not always the end to your operations as there is help out there for that as well. Also look into insurance for hay. In Texas we hay PRF which helps on years like we had this year, oh and insure your equipment even if it’s old. It’s not if you will have a fire it’s when, for us we have been lucky enough to catch them and put them out but I know many that didn’t, our day is coming. Good luck many hard days and sleepless nights are ahead but those days when your family is out there helping will be more rewarding than ever imagined.

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definitely the thing to get started doing if you own your ground or rent your ground big money maker. Fewer people are doing hay. Supply and demand! Don’t need alot of equipment like you do with row cropping. There is very little risk like there is in row cropping. So it’s very stable. You name your price unlike corn & soybeans & wheat . I do about 120 acres of hay and 175 acres of corn soybeans and wheat. Would rather have all my ground in hay. Hopefully I can soon

Answer

It can be done as a side job, it's not easy though. Be prepared to home and then go back out and cut till midnight. Find your niche. Only square bale your best hay. Have a old round baler for if you mess up. Spend money on a GOOD square baler. You can get by with rougher rake and tedder and cutter. You will need good storage.

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