How much does a bale of silage cost?

GerryCarry

In the Munster region, this time last year a bale of good silage cost €25 and a bale of good hay cost €30.

I'm wondering with the price of things going up over the last year, would a bale of good silage in Munster now cost €30? Or is it still €25?

Rows Grower

Check DoneDeal.

Danzy

I've seen poor enough stuff go for 35, stuff sold at 45 as well that I personally wouldn't have rated as worth it. I sold bales at 45 that were decent stuff to a neighbour.

You wouldn't be going far wrong at costing a bale at 30 euro all in and good stuff dearer, add in a margin for the man selling from there on.

GerryCarry

So €30 per bale of silage from a neighbor would be fair? As he would not have to deliver it, I would just be taking it from his yard? No deliver cost.

I would be cheaping out if I only gave him €25 a bale like I did last year?

weatherbyfoxer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120044451#Comment_120044451

If its good stuff it is worth €45 a bale if you really want to pay him the current market value of it

Packrat

I sold silage to a neighbour last year at 30 with him collecting it. I sold it at the same money delivered and fed bale by bale to another neighbour.

First lad won't ever get any again because he bitched about the price and landed me with a cheque after agreeing cash.

Second lad is a nuisance but I'll supply him again although I'll be rising it on him this year.

He gives me a bit of slurry which is important because I don't have any.

No point in selling it for what it cost to make and your field gone for 10 weeks of the best growing time.

RockOrBog

€35 to €45 depending on quality

Dinzee Conlee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058277418/how-much-does-a-bale-of-silage-cost

From what I hear, bales are between 40 and 50 around here.

GerryCarry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120044484#Comment_120044484

I'll be paying cash.

This guy never complained about getting €25 a bale before. Of course that doesn't mean he was or wasn't happy about the €25 price. He just accepted it.

But I felt I should give €30 this year with the price of everything going up.

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120044505#Comment_120044505

I made 2nd cut silage. 3 bags of 18-6-12 per acre cost €145. Mowing €25\acre, Tedding and raking €16 per acre, baling, wrapping and plastic €11 per bale or €88 per acre at 8 bales to the acre.

That's €274 per acre. Divide by 8 bales leaves silage costing €34.25 on owned land not including drawing them in.

Pay the man properly for his silage.

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120044505#Comment_120044505

Why pay cash?

I got €27 cash a few weeks ago. It’s the same as €50 to me through a cheque but can’t see the value for your man paying cash.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120044505#Comment_120044505

He doesn't understand what it's taking out of his land, each bale takes the equivalent of half a bag of 0 10 20 out of the land , That must be €20 on its own , plus approx €17/bale to the contractor, add in land rent and you'd be over €40/ bale

Jb1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120045033#Comment_120045033

Plenty of cash farmers out there, not known or pursued by the tax man, who pay in cash as a way of life.

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120045186#Comment_120045186

They aren't getting cash from the factory, mart or creamery so I can’t see the point of paying for something farm related with notes.

Jb1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120045273#Comment_120045273

Yes, they not getting it in cash from them businesses .

But they can from pensions, stealing or simply running a farm not under the eye of the taxman.

Cash is still a big king, and most transactors, (from contractors to solicitors) including other farmers selling bales will tend to do a better deal for hard cash.

older by the day

I know a few guys around here mad for cash too. If you are in the higher rate of tax, then it's worth a lot more. Coming back to the cost of selling bale's, it depends where you are. I see around here that alot of dry stock farmers have nearly two years bale's in the yards. A lot have cut down down on cattle. If springs comes in March like this year then they won't be sold. While I know in dry land there may be tighter supplies

GerryCarry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120045033#Comment_120045033

So paying €30 a bale in cash might, to some farmers, be the equivalent of paying €45 by cheque per bale.

I don't know what the farmer does with the cash I give him with regard to his tax affairs. That's his business, not mine. Of course he should be paying tax, but I have no way to make him.

pgj2015

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120044484#Comment_120044484

Would you get the money up front?

kollegeknight

Cost me over €40 a bale to make this year. I reckon closer to €45.

Bass Reeves

Silage is costing about 36-38/bale to make. That would be decent high DM silage cut late May and mid June.

Some lads are willing to deal in cash as they are not extremely profitable, they have nearly 17k now in personal tax credits and have write offs for jeep, diesel etc.

By paying cash they save a bit on costs sometimes, however if they hit any tax band savings disappear.

Never sell silage but if someone was paying cash I probably take cost price if they were paying cas, if they were paying cheque or credit transfer I would want a tenner a bale margin.

I don't sell silage so it dose not matter

SuperTortoise

I've costed my silage at €36 per bale to make and stack in the yard, and that's not including my own labour for spreading and drawing in the bales.

If the silage is of good quality i would expect to pay €40+ and i would'nt consider that dear either.

But that's my silage, what you are buying maybe different, how much bag and slurry did it get? Bailed dry or wet? Chopped or not? Double wrapped of not? How many are you buying from him?

If i was selling silage i would try and do a better deal to a man buying 100 bales that a man buying 2?

€25-€50 a bale is the range, bad stuff to top quality.

It's impossible to give one single answer.

GerryCarry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120048166#Comment_120048166

What I was considering €30 cash per bale was good silage baled dry in September. Almost no rushes. I don't think it was chopped. I think it was single wrapped. Field had slurry only put out for that particular round of silage cutting. Probably had 18-6-12 or something like that put out a few months earlier for the previous crop of silage.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120048528#Comment_120048528

Everyplace has a different description of good silage. Early September silages poorly fertlized 30 is probably plenty for it

GerryCarry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120048528#Comment_120048528

Actually i'm mixing up the crops. The bales i'm buying for €30 cash per bale were from the June crop which had been fertilized with 18-6-12 or something like that.

Fine Day

I bought silage a few year back but bought pit silage as I knew what I was getting. It was only 4km away so I could get few ton at a time for the 60 odd stores I winter. Got it for about 3 weeks or so. Bale's are tricky to buy as you don't know what you are getting. A neighbor got about 50 Bale's last spring off me as they got stuck. We both agreed they would replace bale's back in the summer which they did & it worked out well for both. I would only do that for a neighbor or someone I knew very well.

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120049429#Comment_120049429

2013 a neighbour gave me 30 bales when the east wind was blowing for 3 weeks. They were a big help. He would take nothing.

Roll on beast from the east in 2018 and I had surplus bale's. He got 44 from me that I had stacked on the out farm. Again no money changed hands. Again, as you said the heff, I have other neighbours wouldn't have that courtesy extended to them, nor would they extend it to me.

Dunedin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120049461#Comment_120049461

The hidden beauty of rural farming

rs8

Neighbour has asked me to sell bales also .. there extra wrapped aswell and I would have to be getting €37.50 a bale to break even I reckon. The cost to replace them knowing that there very good quality doesn't add up so I hope he manages with what he has because he's a very good neighbour and would get hard to refuse.

On the cash Discussion I used to do alot of relief milking years ago and gave it up long since. A few dairy farmers have come to me asking would I cover relief milkings recently and as soon as I mention I would have to get cash as I would be wasting my tine there not interested. Before figures are even discussed

memorystick

Just off topic. A lot of my bales on top have taken in water. Cheap white plastic I blame. Anyone else with the top row suffering takinginwater syndrome?

MIKEKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120061115#Comment_120061115

Why would you have to get cash? Simp!y quote a price that after tax will give you the hourly rate you want.This will send them running quick.

MIKEKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120104639#Comment_120104639

Sorry replied to wrong thread

SuperTortoise

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120103940#Comment_120103940

Did the crows get at them? Are they punctured?

memorystick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120105205#Comment_120105205

Non punctured. Baled very dry but some have a lot of water. Others are dry. You’d see a balloon of water at the bottom of some of the bales when I lift them. You’d be talking of a few gallons plus whatever is in the bales. I bought plastic that was cheaper than other. It’s not even in a box. Worked ok a few years ago but not happy this year. I’d say they took in rain water in the pile.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120109542#Comment_120109542

I see that about a 3-4L in my bales.have had similar previous years even with silawrap and sometimes worse than this year.. It didn't seem to effect the bales.

SuperTortoise

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120109542#Comment_120109542

Must be the plastic so, or maybe the plastic was over stretched when wrapping?

dohc turbo2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120109542#Comment_120109542

Is that water in the plastic and away from the bale, seen it in a few here but the water is Chrystal clear

Silverdream

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120103940#Comment_120103940

Have that issue too. I put it down to single wrapping that my contractor does. When plastic was cheaper he used to put a lot more plastic on the bale. Now I think its a 1 X 4 wrap which isn't ideal, there's more plastic used for a bag of meal than whats going on the bales.

Defo rainwater in mine too as it's clear like tap water not black silage water

roosterman71

Clear water is usually just rain between the layers of plastic

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120114904#Comment_120114904

I never knew any contractor to put on more than 4 layers unless it was requested and paid for. Generally I put on 5 layers on first cut if it is very dry. On second cut it's nearly always 4 unless I think it's going to be left over after the winter.

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119024#Comment_120119024

Just out of interest what wrapper does your contractor have that can put 5 layers? Most wrappers there’s an overlap of half the width of the roll so it can only be applied in double layers, 2,4,6 etc.

Or is it a Kuhn barrel wrap or something like that?

Agreed too, why would a contractor be putting more than 4 layers without it being requested and price agreed.

kk.man

Am I the only one in this....if I want stuff wrapped I have to go and buy the rolls myself ? My contactor is a big outfit and I would be the one calling him looking for the bill.

Silverdream

can't speak for the contractor as to why he used to use a lot more plastic but he was up front with lads telling them that the plastic would be the minimum to keep costs down

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119464#Comment_120119464

I always bought my own plastic as well. Most contractors look for lads to buy there own. They usually only supply plastic to lads doing 40-50 bales or lads that pay cash for the jobs

cute geoge

Contractors in kerry mostly supply all the plastic and dont skimp ,if bales go bad for whatever reason and if not full amount of plastic on the bale,contractor gets full blame and find it impossable to collect money.

Back wrapping bales years ago I used get 33 bales wrapped off standard roll that was 16 turns of wrapper .Nowadays the go is about 30 bales off a roll for the fusion My neighbour used get away with 15 turns of the wrapper but the bales were for himself but he never had a problem

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119206#Comment_120119206

I never saw a machine that didn't do a 50% overlap. Maybe the contractor was spoofing and only wrapping half with 6 layers and half with 4 and saying it was "5 layers". Even the first wrapper we had with the small rolls had the overlap.

Always 6 layers here. Even for the second cut. Might be a bit of a waste for the second stuff cut that you know will be used soon enough but for the few euro more you have the peace of mind.

Would usually be carrying over a buffer of anything from 200-500 bales as well depending on the year so you'd need the 6 layers for those anyway.

eire23

Gas when lads tell ya "stick on a extra bit of wrap"....so ya want 6 layers instead of 4? No, just a turn and half will do. On goes the 6 layers so. It's as handy just to agree with them and get wrapping!

Silverdream

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120120640#Comment_120120640

I do about 250 bales every year, I have never bought plastic or had an issue paying the contractor by cheque. I usually pay him 2k on his first visit around the end of May then on his last visit I pay the balance which could be as late as October.

He just told lads this year that he was keeping everything to a minimum as his costs had gone out of control especially with the diesel situation.

Might be different in other parts wrt supplying the plastic yourself but in fairness it's hardly worth the bother for 8/9 rolls of plastic when if the year comes fine I could be doing most in hay

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120121306#Comment_120121306

some of the lads here migh be doing 8-10K bales. That is 30K+ worth of plastic. the bigger a lads bill is the more discount he wants. Have been buying my own plastic for 15 years now, Buy 10-12 rolls if there is 1-2 left over I just store it until next year.

Packrat

I'm in Kerry and have always bought my own wrap.

24 turns of the wrapper however many wraps that is. 18 to 20 bales/roll. I had too many white patches using less wrap and it killed sheep on me so it's cheaper to just fkin do it properly.

*** From my earlier post about lads bitching about the price and not paying cash - that bollix is ringing flat out all day - and he'll be at it. My other customer is getting it at 35 fed bale by bale a mile away but that lad won't get a single bale for 60 if he paid it.

tanko

Net replacement film (NRF) is the only job. First year using it here, very impressed with it, will never use that crappy net again if i can.

dohc turbo2

16 wraps standed and 24 wraps for wrap and half what the contractor dose here, anything exray going over gets the 24 wraps