bunching bales,,cost

Case Nutty 1660

Well-known Member
Long story short, I had a neighbor bunch my round bales for me in my hay fields,,, he used his own tractor and 3pt fork, his own fuel ect, 425 bales, anyone know what a per bale cost is running these days? thanks
cnt
 
Here custom fellas charge a flat per hour rate for a loader and a man to run it . $60.00 to $70.00 per hour is the going rate . Do you know how long it took to move the bales , and how does this compare to what you are paying ?
 

I think even $2.50 a bale to stack bales in field is very high. I can get rd bales hauled 5 miles or less for $3. I wouldn't pay much over $1 for stacking only
 
When I think this over , Unless there is a real long distance to travel , it would seem to me you are paying a lot. $1062.50 for this job at $2.50 per bale . Even if you can only carry one bale at a time 25 bales per hour @ $60.00 per hour would be 17 hours, and cost $1020.00 . I would think you should be able to do better then that. Sounds like this guy was taking one bale per trip, not your fault if his equipment isn't up to snuff. A tractor should be able to take two on the front , and at least one on the back. But even with just two on the front , 50 bales per hour cuts the cost by half .I feel $500.00 bucks would be closer to fair price for you.
 
Around me you can rent a tractor for $.20/hp/hr, so a 100hp tractor costs $20.00/hr. Then add about $7.00/hr for fuel on a job like that and if he's doing it as a business he will need at least $40.00/hr to cover labor which adds up to about $62.00/hr. I would think that should be a minimum to hire a tractor and driver if he runs hard.
 
This is what I was thinking,,, he did a great job,, but this is actually my cousin who I help out all year long, I rake his hay, I have worked his hay ground, loaned him a tractor for 10 years to pull his baler,,He also use my tractor and swather to cut 50 acres at least three times with never a offer to pay a dime (oh did I say I supplied the fuel and twine all those years and never asked a dime) loaned him my loader tractor for sweeping in his small squares,,,(when I went to bring it back home I had to put gas in it as it was bone dry, I waited two weeks for him to bring drive it across the road to me) and more that I have never asked a dime for,,, also supplied the fuel,,, I always have helped my neighbors/family ect as I have a lot of equipment and do not mind lending a hand at all,,, when I asked him if I should start charging for what I do for him he said we sure you have been screwing yourself all these years,,, well it did not sit well,, as for time,, he worked at it when he had time but it did take I would say 10 hrs total so maybe the 325 bales x 2,50 = 1062.50 is not out of line,,, I just feel for all I do for him I felt its a tad high,,, but I will pay it today in full his price,,, I will NEVER ask him to help again nor will I be running over to his place when it -20 below and the snow is 5 feet deep on his road to clean it out for free either,,, its more a matter of principle to me I guess,,, Thank You all for your input,,, I was always going to pay what he asked for but wanted a few thoughts on it thanks again
cnt
 
Bruce that is where I was at and I was going to supply the fuel,,, one thing that hit me funny was when I said that seems a bit high was he popped off that diesel is expensive! LOL never bothered him when he used mine for free when it was 5 bucks a gallon lol


Thanks again
cnt tom
 
Did he bunch them all the way back to the field entrance or just groups of maybe 10-20 in the field?

When I clear to field staging them at the entrance there is no way I'd do it for 1$ a bale, way too much driving.
 
it was done in rows of them end to end and yes 15-25 in a row,,, it was still work ad time consuming,,, I paid him this morning the rate he asked for,,, 2.50 per bale,
cnt
 
That would that be the last time he was in my field. It would be the last time he used any of my stuff. some people think everyone owes them a living.
 

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