Round Baling Prices!

agriman27

Last year I got over three hundred round bales made I paid €8 for rowing with big rake, baling and wrapping. I bought the wrap myself and mowed,tedded and stacked bales myself. I paid for every last bale with no discount for early payment or anything which I thought was a bit dry as he doesn't even have a business just baling on the side. There is no shortage of lads doing baling in the area and there all mad for work. A friend of mine told me I paid top dollar and that I should be shopping around them all and making a deal for that number of bales like he does. Just wondering do many people price around and make deals for substantial numbers of bales?

Reggie.

We are creatures of habit here. Same contractor every year. No idea on prices tho as I'm not in the decision making process

moy83

I think its 11 here for baling and wrapping only we supplied the wrap . He did it for 10 because I paid him going out the gate and he lets us use his slurry tank which is way better than ours . We only made about 100 bales last year . Thats what they are charging around here with our smaller stoney gardens but I here lads getting it done the far side of the town for as cheap as 7 including cutting

northdub14

5 euro @bale around here for baling and wrapping, supply your own plastic,, that raking to me is a scam, whats wrong with picking it up after rowing it up with a haybob....

farmernewbie

northdub14 wrote: »

5 euro @bale around here for baling and wrapping, supply your own plastic,, that raking to me is a scam, whats wrong with picking it up after rowing it up with a haybob....

8 euro mowed, baled and wrapped. Have to supply wrap ourselves.

Reggie.

northdub14 wrote: »

5 euro @bale around here for baling and wrapping, supply your own plastic,, that raking to me is a scam, whats wrong with picking it up after rowing it up with a haybob....

That's nearly the price of baling straw on its own around here

bogman_bass

I wouldn't pay no extra for raking. It's to his advantage not yours

Reggie.

bogman_bass wrote: »

I would pay no extra for raking. It's to his advantage not yours

It can make a far taster bale when the crop ain't that heavy

tomwaterford

farmernewbie wrote: »

8 euro mowed, baled and wrapped. Have to supply wrap ourselves.

jesus...they must nothing after that for themselves:eek:
after diesel,machine maintenance,netting etc....

either that or you must have pancakes....one side losing out there

darragh_haven

tomwaterford wrote: »

jesus...they must nothing after that for themselves:eek:
after diesel,machine maintenance,netting etc....

either that or you must have pancakes....one side losing out there

€10.50 a bale here. Baled and wraped (contractor supplies the wrap). Mow and stack ourselves

moy83

darragh_haven wrote: »

€10.50 a bale here. Baled and wraped (contractor supplies the wrap). Mow and stack ourselves

Thankfully someone else with a price similar to ours , I was beginning to feel robbed !

Viewtodiefor

agriman27 wrote: »

Last year I got over three hundred round bales made I paid €8 for rowing with big rake, baling and wrapping. I bought the wrap myself and mowed,tedded and stacked bales myself. I paid for every last bale with no discount for early payment or anything which I thought was a bit dry as he doesn't even have a business just baling on the side. There is no shortage of lads doing baling in the area and there all mad for work. A friend of mine told me I paid top dollar and that I should be shopping around them all and making a deal for that number of bales like he does. Just wondering do many people price around and make deals for substantial numbers of bales?

Ah jaysus you want him working for nothing!

farmernewbie

tomwaterford wrote: »

jesus...they must nothing after that for themselves:eek:
after diesel,machine maintenance,netting etc....

either that or you must have pancakes....one side losing out there

Very decent size bales. Well made as well with very little waste. Actually think he was €8.50 last year. I don't see it as overly cheap. How much is wrap this year? How many bales in a roll of wrap? And then the cost of getting someone to draw to them in.

northdub14

farmernewbie wrote: »

8 euro mowed, baled and wrapped. Have to supply wrap ourselves.

that sounds about right, its enough to be paying.......

darragh_haven

moy83 wrote: »

Thankfully someone else with a price similar to ours , I was beginning to feel robbed !

He's reliable and would definitely knock the 0.50 off if you pay him going out the gate. He'd be in our place about 5 or 6 times making 300 bales total.
I don't know how a contractor keeps going on 8 euro for that work

131spanner

2.50 to mow.
5.00 to bale.
2.50 to wrap.

The cost of the plastic is added on if we bring the wrap, only to cover the cost though, no profit made off it.

If the bill comes to something like €780 or €440 we round it down to the nearest hundred or fifty, making it €750 or €400. We're doing ~5,000 bales and not gaining or losing jobs, just holding our own.

Roll on silage '14

agriman27

Thanks for all the replies lads, it looks like what I paid is kinda average I suppose. It just adds up to a fair amount for a job that seems easy enough compared to single chop pit job we used to get done for a lot less money:rolleyes:

moy83

darragh_haven wrote: »

He's reliable and would definitely knock the 0.50 off if you pay him going out the gate. He'd be in our place about 5 or 6 times making 300 bales total.

With the weather we are getting reliability is worth a euro or two in my book . Our lad will come within an hour or two of when he says . Since he stopped drinking he is even better !

visatorro

€11 mowed, raked, baled with John deere combi. He supplies plastic. I normally trip in myself. That was last year's price anyway. Normally a discount when paying. Only thing is if he says ' yeah il be there Friday ' you have to wonder which Friday he lands which can be frustrating to say the least!!

Reggie.

visatorro wrote: »

€11 mowed, raked, baled with John deere combi. He supplies plastic. I normally trip in myself. That was last year's price anyway. Normally a discount when paying. Only thing is if he says ' yeah il be there Friday ' you have to wonder which Friday he lands which can be frustrating to say the least!!

Hate that

Muckit

€11 a bale last year to mow, bale, wrap with wrap supplied by contractor. Hopefully much the same this year. To his word and on time every time. And his phone works both ways.

farmernewbie

Muckit wrote: »

€11 a bale last year to mow, bale, wrap with wrap supplied by contractor. Hopefully much the same this year. To his word and on time every time. And his phone works both ways.

Seems like a very fair price. What ya reckon it costs per bale to wrap?

Muckit

Not a clue lad. Fusion baler so no driver and one less tractor to run. It's in both our interests for him to supply wrap. He can bulk buy so it costs him and therefore me less per bale and also l don't have bits of rolls left over to try mind in the shed until next year. He's not messing changing rolls at the gate on his way in and the fact he supplies is one less job for me and one of the main reasons l get him.

farmernewbie

Muckit wrote: »

Not a clue lad. Fusion baler so no driver and one less tractor to run. It's in both our interests for him to supply wrap. He can bulk buy so it costs him and therefore me less per bale and also l don't have bits of rolls left over to try mind in the shed until next year. He's not messing changing rolls at the gate on his way in and the fact he supplies is one less job for me and one of the main reasons l get him.

Great reason to get him. Have two bits and a full roll left over from last year. Think he needs two on the go for the fusion baler so not sure how many to get for next year. Will have approx 90 bales this year. Sooner just pay him to do it.

Damo810

Jaysus some of you lads are paying well! €5.50 a bale here to bale and wrap. We had a lad doing it at €4 but sure you could never get the lad when you needed him and by the time he came it was too late!

stop thelights

€7.50 fusion baler just bale and wrap in that. We mow , draw and stack ourselves.

How are people paying for pit. We're €130 with only very handy gear.

tomwaterford

darragh_haven wrote: »

€10.50 a bale here. Baled and wraped (contractor supplies the wrap). Mow and stack ourselves

this is a reasonable price IMO

farmernewbie wrote: »

Very decent size bales. Well made as well with very little waste. Actually think he was €8.50 last year. I don't see it as overly cheap. How much is wrap this year? How many bales in a roll of wrap? And then the cost of getting someone to draw to them in.

I don't dount it for a minete...these tractors are dear to run..

have any these contracters done calculator work....there little to no margin in that...I was told by a lad that deos this and a lot of own repairs and he said they nothing out of it for e7 a bale

Damo810 wrote: »

Jaysus some of you lads are paying well! €5.50 a bale here to bale and wrap. We had a lad doing it at €4 but sure you could never get the lad when you needed him and by the time he came it was too late!

was that because he couldn't afford diesel!!:pac::pac:

tomwaterford

stop thelights wrote: »

€7.50 fusion baler just bale and wrap in that. We mow , draw and stack ourselves.

How are people paying for pit. We're €130 with only very handy gear.

have heard of new crowd starting up down here with all new gear doing pit from wagons for e60 for light to e80 an acre for heavy crop...including mowing....how will this ever pay??

eire23

northdub14 wrote: »

5 euro @bale around here for baling and wrapping, supply your own plastic,, that raking to me is a scam, whats wrong with picking it up after rowing it up with a haybob....

bogman_bass wrote: »

I would pay no extra for raking. It's to his advantage not yours

How is raking a scam lads? If tedded out or cut with a mower with spreader vans and then raked up ya will get a better wilt, higher dm silage so ya will end up with less bales and also the bales will have a far better shape to them.

And ya cant compare the swarth of a haybob against a rake, its like night and day the difference, one a narrow lumpy swarth against a wide even swarth.

agriman27

The local big pit contractor with self propelled has been charging €100 an acre but says they have to up it this year because they make nothing, another man in next parish with trailed harvester charges €115 and still keeps customers. A lad started out with a wagon but he charges €100 an acre which lads think is steep.

ellewood

tomwaterford wrote: »

have heard of new crowd starting up down here with all new gear doing pit from wagons for e60 for light to e80 an acre for heavy crop...including mowing....how will this ever pay??

Lads around here supposed to be going doing SP in pit for E85.00/acre!!

E6.50 to bale and wrap I supply plastic
E25.00/ acre to mow
E11.00/acre to rake

ellewood

Just made up me own figures there
@ 6 bales/acre its costing E15.50/bale before drawing/stacking and fertliser - let alone a land charge?

Buying at E25/bale dosent look too bad at that

Oldtree

I have been told it's €10 a bale (mow and black plastic) round here. Was that a few years back too.

tomwaterford

ellewood wrote: »

Just made up me own figures there
@ 6 bales/acre its costing E15.50/bale before drawing/stacking and fertliser - let alone a land charge?

Buying at E25/bale dosent look too bad at that

this is what ive always said...lads moaning there being fleeced at this price...I priced mine at e18 a bale...but I do be away working...and can ring contractor and depend on hi m to turn up and do it right...so don't mind paying bit extra TBH

even at e30 a bale its not bad...only I would fear for buying weeds etc in bales

mahoney_j

I mow,Tedd out and stack myself.mchale fusion baler bales and wraps for 6 euro a bale(I supply plastic) and get it raked into 30 foot swarths for 7 euro an acre.im quite happy with that

Damo810

ellewood wrote: »

Just made up me own figures there
@ 6 bales/acre its costing E15.50/bale before drawing/stacking and fertliser - let alone a land charge?

Buying at E25/bale dosent look too bad at that

But you have no idea what kind of ****e your buying. Pure lottery.

Zr105

€6 or €6.50 i think round here, thats bale and wrap farmer supplies wrap. Raking is €10/acre and certainly wouldn't be going away from raking as it allows to spread off mower or if time/weather is right give it a turn and get a decent wilt,

haybob only makes a balls of a baler as it wont leave the row in a decent shape for baler then lads give out about shape of bales, big rake is the only way to go.

Pit is €115 for sp and i wouldn't think there's a lot in it for them at that

Damo810

tomwaterford wrote: »

was that because he couldn't afford diesel!!:pac::pac:

The poor lads a bit simple hah! He had a pure monopoly here and let things go to muck and the place is flooded with contractors and he's lost an awful amount of lads altogether. Pure messer and like a lot of them will put the big lad first. This lad could of had a few thousand acres to himself had he ran things right though..

tomwaterford

Damo810 wrote: »

But you have no idea what kind of ****e your buying. Pure lottery.

but if you can be sure what your buying...at what price deos it become better to make your own...vs buying it in??
if you have a cost of e18-19 a bale excluding land charge and your labour for spreading fert,drawing stacking & diesel etc??

tomwaterford

Damo810 wrote: »

The poor lads a bit simple hah! He had a pure monopoly here and let things go to muck and the place is flooded with contractors and he's lost an awful amount of lads altogether. Pure messer and like a lot of them will put the big lad first. This lad could of had a few thousand acres to himself had he ran things right though..

but is better to lose work than money at e4 a bale to bale & wrap??

agriman27

Is 7 or 8 euro a bale for baling and wrapping not lots of money for a system with low initial investment, and a lot of lads baling already have and need tractors on their own farms and other work sure loads of farmers are buying their own balers too

tomwaterford

agriman27 wrote: »

Is 7 or 8 euro a bale for baling and wrapping not lots of money for a system with low initial investment, and a lot of lads baling already have and need tractors on their own farms and other work:rolleyes:

emm no...at a cost of roughly 50c to e1 a bale netting
and roughly 20K+ for a reasonable baler + servicing costs....
e6K+ for a descent wrapper...if you have any interest in doing job right you will be spending around this...otherwise you will not get through 10K+ bales a year without breakdowns...chains are not cheap!!!

also running the tractor...min e300+ a day in diesel as well as increased servicing costs...its not light work working a modern baler...also count in your own time...crist who in there right mind wants to spend there days going around in a tractor

Sam Kade

I have mowing baling, wrapping, drawing and stacking for around €6/bale

lakill Farm

€9 for mow, bale and wrap.

If it needs to be raked he does it for free be says but he never rakes here. I supply plastic and pay at end of that month and don't haggle for simple reason I drop him a text and say mow that field tomorrow afternoon and if I go down at 6pm its mowed and gate closed . Worth the service

Zr105

tomwaterford wrote: »

emm no...at a cost of roughly 50c to e1 a bale netting
and roughly 20K+ for a reasonable baler + servicing costs....
e6K+ for a descent wrapper...if you have any interest in doing job right you will be spending around this...otherwise you will not get through 10K+ bales a year without breakdowns...chains are not cheap!!!

also running the tractor...min e300+ a day in diesel as well as increased servicing costs...its not light work working a modern baler...also count in your own time...crist who in there right mind wants to spend there days going around in a tractor

Oh so true!! Dont forget you'll more than like have to pay some one else to drive the wrapper to if your getting through reasonable number of bales!

And on the chains one of 3 big chains on a class(there's pick up chains on top of that) is the best part of a grand and thats the shorter one!

agriman27

tomwaterford wrote: »

emm no...at a cost of roughly 50c to e1 a bale netting
and roughly 20K+ for a reasonable baler + servicing costs....
e6K+ for a descent wrapper...if you have any interest in doing job right you will be spending around this...otherwise you will not get through 10K+ bales a year without breakdowns...chains are not cheap!!!

also running the tractor...min e300+ a day in diesel as well as increased servicing costs...its not light work working a modern baler...also count in your own time...crist who in there right mind wants to spend there days going around in a tractor

Local contractor has a mc hale 550 with over 90000 bales clocked and uses tractors over ten years old with well over 10000 hours and repairs all himself, he's makin money even with net, diesel and repairs

Reggie.

Sam Kade wrote: »

I have mowing baling, wrapping, drawing and stacking for around €6/bale

How is that fella making money

Injuryprone

€12 / bale here........bale, wrap & stack (wrap included)
€22 / acre mow.........don't know how fellas price mowing by the bale
€5 / acre rake

Anything less than 8 bales to the acre, baling is actually cheaper than pit which I was quite surprised by.

darragh_haven

Injuryprone wrote: »

€12 / bale here........bale, wrap & stack (wrap included)
€22 / acre mow.........don't know how fellas price mowing by the bale
€5 / acre rake

Anything less than 8 bales to the acre, baling is actually cheaper than pit which I was quite surprised by.

We had 8 bales per acre as the cut off point here too. After first cut is in the pit, we bale everything else and average 5 bales per acre (no dedicated second cut, just bale as paddocks go strong)

Brown Podzol

Are you better off letting the contractor supply the plastic? He can claim back the high rate vat and supply at the lower rate, where as tha farmer unless he's vat reg will pay the high rate. Also are the prices quoted for chopped bales. I really do not know how much I'm paying as it's a neighbour who also does my slurry and buys a bull from me most years so we have a balancing payment yearly.

lab man

Lads yer asking a lot for cheap baling . Go and ask for the price of a knife for a baler it will shock ye then put 28new in every year for two balers. There is no credit anymore for diesel or parts . You need atleast 10 to 13 k at the start of the year to get going then Try and collect money by god tis harder than any day baling dusty hay . Oh ya are ye paying vat or cash is yer man insured i bet not ...lab man