What's the going rate to make round bales?

ADDON

I've just had 60 round bales of haylage made. Contractor cut, turned, baled and wrapped. Charged €16 per bale. Is this the going rate? I t may be, but I can't help get the feeling I'm being overcharged....

irishh_bob

ADDON wrote: »

I've just had 60 round bales of haylage made. Contractor cut, turned, baled and wrapped. Charged €16 per bale. Is this the going rate? I t may be, but I can't help get the feeling I'm being overcharged....

how many times did he turn it ?
did he supply the plastic and if so , how many layers did he put on ?

pakalasa

I just paid €12.50 for cut, bale and wrap silage, so €16 sounds about right when it was turned aswell.

BTW I could have got it done for €10.50, but these were made with a Fusion, so I know there will be a lot less bales, if you know what I mean.

snowman707

€8.50 per bale

cut, row, bale and wrap, farmer supplies plastic

C0N0R

snowman707 wrote: »

€8.50 per bale

cut, row, bale and wrap, farmer supplies plastic

Ah but how much does the plastic per bale work out at?? We really need to know that and therefore how much it costs per bale

irishh_bob

mow , bale and wrap without supplying plastc = 8 euro
add plastic ( usually six layers for haylage ) = three euro ( two euro for 4 layers)
turn = depends how many times it was turned but 20 euro per acre for one turn and rowing up , if you get ten bales per acre , that would be two euro per bale

16 euro sounds expensive but depends on how many times it was turned

Shauny2010

At 16 euros a bale I think that guy made a killing there

Sam Kade

At €16 a bale it would be cheaper buy bales during the winter when you add in fertilizer, land tied up etc.

snowman707

C0N0R wrote: »

Ah but how much does the plastic per bale work out at?? We really need to know that and therefore how much it costs per bale

€2.25

ADDON

It's what I thought.... €16 was a bit much. :eek: Especially when he only turned it once.

I'm inclined to agree that it may be better not to have meadow and just buy bales. The trouble is that they can become scarce, just when you need them most!!!

Maybe I'll shop around next year and get a few prices before getting the work done, although that can be difficult when you're getting neighbours to do the work.

Casinoking

How many acres were involved? The price for mowing, turning and raking is usually per acre so a light crop is going to cost more per bale

roosterman71

Around me it was €22 per acre to mow

€6.25 to bale and wrap, plus €2.25 if you didn't supply plastic

I mowed 56 acres of our own (would have cost about €1230 - and the mower only cost me €1400 to buy and fix up!!)
Paid €3500 for the baling and wrapping.
Bought the wrap at €64 a roll

I dunno how many rolls of wrap are left - I bought 40 earlier in the year.

irishh_bob

roosterman71 wrote: »

Around me it was €22 per acre to mow

€6.25 to bale and wrap, plus €2.25 if you didn't supply plastic

I mowed 56 acres of our own (would have cost about €1230 - and the mower only cost me €1400 to buy and fix up!!)
Paid €3500 for the baling and wrapping.
Bought the wrap at €64 a roll

I dunno how many rolls of wrap are left - I bought 40 earlier in the year.

never goes any higher than 18 euro per acre for mowing round theese parts

thereitisgone

pakalasa wrote: »

I just paid €12.50 for cut, bale and wrap silage, so €16 sounds about right when it was turned aswell.

BTW I could have got it done for €10.50, but these were made with a Fusion, so I know there will be a lot less bales, if you know what I mean.

Sorry bit new to this what do you mean there will be less bales with the fusion, is this the Mchales fusion does it pack them tighter or something?

pakalasa

thereitisgone wrote: »

Sorry bit new to this what do you mean there will be less bales with the fusion, is this the Mchales fusion does it pack them tighter or something?

Well thats the believe out there anyway. The Fusion packs a heavier bale.
It it packs in 20% more weight, then that equates to about 10.40 Euro for normal bales.

irishh_bob

the mchale fusion absolutley makes a bigger better packed bale

Figerty

€11 a bale: Cut, baled and Wrapped. Small tight fields in west Clare so he earned his money.

Wouldn't like to be buying feed this year; The quantities being made are well back on other years and this could well drive the prices up later in the year.

Shauny2010

Figerty wrote: »

€11 a bale: Cut, baled and Wrapped. Small tight fields in west Clare so he earned his money.

Wouldn't like to be buying feed this year; The quantities being made are well back on other years and this could well drive the prices up later in the year.

A lot of cattle have been exported plus everyone I know is Keeping less cows and less cattle for the winter. Even at €11 a bale it still an expensive feed. By the way my baler-man is charging €12 for very loose bales. (I told him it was his last visit)

C0N0R

We have made more bales this year than in other years, but also have less pit silage. Should be ok though

maidhc

irishh_bob wrote: »

the mchale fusion absolutley makes a bigger better packed bale

Surely the current generation welgers and so forth are just as strong a baler and make as good a bale.


Cost me €2000 to make almost 12,000 bales and 10 years worth of silage. Good old RP12s! Only break so far this year is a snapped chain and 15 mins downtime.

cormywormy

maidhc wrote: »

Surely the current generation welgers and so forth are just as strong a baler and make as good a bale.

Well that is'nt totally true as i stack a good bit of silage and its normally behind 1 contractor with a welger rp235 he averages out at 740kg a bale. But last week i had to move bales from a mchale f550, my trcator would hardly lift them, they were a 1000kg weight and sometimes a bit over.

A mchale makes a heavier and bigger bale because the chamer is 4'6"

pakalasa

maidhc wrote: »

Surely the current generation welgers and so forth are just as strong a baler and make as good a bale.


Cost me €2000 to make almost 12,000 bales and 10 years worth of silage. Good old RP12s! Only break so far this year is a snapped chain and 15 mins downtime.

€2000 to make almost 12,000 bales
....That's 17 cents per bale. Are you kidding me? I'd like to see your breakdown of costs on that.

maidhc

pakalasa wrote: »

€2000 to make almost 12,000 bales
....That's 17 cents per bale. Are you kidding me? I'd like to see your breakdown of costs on that.

No unscheduled breakdowns in a good few years thank god, as I only get a chance to use it in evenings and at weekends. I'd say I probably spend €200-€300 on parts every winter... In winter 08 I recon'd the pickup and replaced a good few roller bearings at a total cost of about €400, but last winter I only parked it in the shed and pulled it out this summer and headed off into the field.

Didn't realise the McHale made such a big bale!

Casinoking

cormywormy wrote: »

Well that is'nt totally true as i stack a good bit of silage and its normally behind 1 contractor with a welger rp235 he averages out at 740kg a bale. But last week i had to move bales from a mchale f550, my trcator would hardly lift them, they were a 1000kg weight and sometimes a bit over.

A mchale makes a heavier and bigger bale because the chamer is 4'6"

The chamber in a Mchale is 4', same as everything else. The reason it makes a bigger bale is the back door is held closed hydraulically and it opens when the bale is getting full. A Welger RP235 will pack every bit as much into the bale, but the door doesn't open so it stays at 4'. As previoulsy discussed in another thread, the biggest factor in determining the weight of a bale is the density setting on the baler. I've seen McHales making sponges as well as any other baler.

Shauny2010

Casinoking wrote: »

The chamber in a Mchale is 4', same as everything else. The reason it makes a bigger bale is the back door is held closed hydraulically and it opens when the bale is getting full. A Welger RP235 will pack every bit as much into the bale, but the door doesn't open so it stays at 4'. As previoulsy discussed in another thread, the biggest factor in determining the weight of a bale is the density setting on the baler. I've seen McHales making sponges as well as any other baler.

I totally agree, its down to the balerman and also the type of silage being made. Its hard to pack reseeded grass it tends to be soft anyway. I had it out with my balerman this year about making handy bales and overcharging as he found out most lads in the area left him at home this year when it came to harvest time:D:D