Round bale silage costs

charolais0153 wrote: »

Would the opportunity cost on silage be if you have your silage ground taken up from March til August for 2 cuts, you could rear more stock on that land if you hadn't silage taken up compared to buying in silage?

I stocked at 170 kgs of N/ HA so I cannot carry any more stock unless I enter a derogation. If I enter a derogation I lose my GLAS. The derogation itself costs 200 euro. Been down the that road it has other disadvantages as well.

charolais0153 wrote: »

But do you see my point in theory, rear a lot of stock on Silage land during the summer

In theory it sounds good there is a few issues however.

First you have to source decent silage a lot of silage sold will just be bulk. Land that is not fertlilized adequately this effects cutting date, quality and there can be a lot of weeds in it. I wouldn't claim to be making top quality silage but only once in the last 10 years have I bought silage as good or better than my own.

Next is in a year where silage is scarce you will pay above feed value for silage if you can get it. Take two years ago with drought nobody was selling silage. In September I heard prices of 32-35/bake out of the yard. Add transport at 5+/ bale if travelling a distance and with middling DM silage you have an expensive feed. You then end up messing with straights or beet with the added cost and hassle.

Finally you have the hassle of sourcing and getting it delivered you probably. End up hauling a lot of it yourself. I use about 220 bales of high DM silage this year. It unlikely that I get similar for sale if they were lower DM I have to source and get delivered 300ish bales. That 21 loads to a lad delivering 14 at a time. Best case scenario would be less than two hour going, loading, returning and unloading. Maybe 3 loads ever two weeks. In theory you might source it at cutting time but. Unlikly you source it all that way.

It totally different to sourcing a few loads when stuck at the end of the year. Over the years I have found that the price of the silage is inversely proportionally to the price paid. Last year I got 50 bales delivered at 24/vale.4-4 years ago the year of the late spring I paid 40+5delivery for fairly poor quality silage but I only bough enough to provide roughage as I fed 2-2kgs od ration with it

Bass Reeves wrote: »

In theory it sounds good there is a few issues however.

First you have to source decent silage a lot of silage sold will just be bulk. Land that is not fertlilized adequately this effects cutting date, quality and there can be a lot of weeds in it. I wouldn't claim to be making top quality silage but only once in the last 10 years have I bought silage as good or better than my own.

Next is in a year where silage is scarce you will pay above feed value for silage if you can get it. Take two years ago with drought nobody was selling silage. In September I heard prices of 32-35/bake out of the yard. Add transport at 5+/ bale if travelling a distance and with middling DM silage you have an expensive feed. You then end up messing with straights or beet with the added cost and hassle.

Finally you have the hassle of sourcing and getting it delivered you probably. End up hauling a lot of it yourself. I use about 220 bales of high DM silage this year. It unlikely that I get similar for sale if they were lower DM I have to source and get delivered 300ish bales. That 21 loads to a lad delivering 14 at a time. Best case scenario would be less than two hour going, loading, returning and unloading. Maybe 3 loads ever two weeks. In theory you might source it at cutting time but. Unlikly you source it all that way.

It totally different to sourcing a few loads when stuck at the end of the year. Over the years I have found that the price of the silage is inversely proportionally to the price paid. Last year I got 50 bales delivered at 24/vale.4-4 years ago the year of the late spring I paid 40+5delivery for fairly poor quality silage but I only bough enough to provide roughage as I fed 2-2kgs od ration with it

Would roots / maize / wholecrop be better to Charolais than buying silage?

Just to add say a friend in a fodder shortage give a small amount of silage (as roughage) with meal
Said the cost of extra silage was too dear
His cattle did quite well

Cost of a bale is one of those questions, where if you ask a hundred farmers, you get about five hundred different answers. Just like asking how much it costs to keep a suckler cow!
I have now concluded, that there is no answer to either equation. Well that’s if you exclude “too much”, as the best answer in both cases!

curiousinvestor wrote: »

I'd have to disagree on the missed opportunity thing, a little at least
I missed the opportunity to build a shed (I got distracted by a shower of con men) this summer and my darling wife took the opportunity to buy a car !! 😭😭

The horror

Water John wrote: »

Won't fit many cattle or silage bales into the car!!!

I'm not sure I'll ever get over it. Lesson learned though, never again will I get caught with a ball of cash like that again!!!

curiousinvestor wrote: »

I'm not sure I'll ever get over it. Lesson learned though, never again will I get caught with a ball of cash like that again!!!

You can’t be farming too long to say you had a ball of cash at all?

Investor, you remind me of the fella whose wife decided to go for a divorce. She didn't know exactly all the assets the man had and he was furiously cashing them for IOUs to all his friends at a discount.

Water John wrote: »

Investor, you remind me of the fella whose wife decided to go for a divorce. She didn't know exactly all the assets the man had and he was furiously cashing them for IOUs to all his friends at a discount.

I think I must be related to him !!!

lalababa wrote: »

Missed opertuinity is only applicable if you're selling the bales I'd say.
If you don't bale an acre and lease it for c. 150/acre/season. Or sell a cut for 60/70 . If you bale..10/acre for 20euro in yard and sell for 25. Then you make 50euro.
I've been saying for years that buying bales was a no brainer. But 100's of years of "we have to have our own fodder" is engrained.

If everyone followed that logic, then there would be no fodder. And in a fodder shortage we've all seen how quickly the prices can change.

I'd still far rather bale my own than buy lucky bags. And since I've 0 contactors fees in making my own I'm still failing to see the lost opportunity.

Leasing out at 150 to someone who mines your land of all nutrients returns nothing and moves on could be fairly costly too. The more angles I look at it most of these missed opportunities just create a different cost somewhere else.

Bass Reeves wrote: »

In theory it sounds good there is a few issues however.

First you have to source decent silage a lot of silage sold will just be bulk. Land that is not fertlilized adequately this effects cutting date, quality and there can be a lot of weeds in it. I wouldn't claim to be making top quality silage but only once in the last 10 years have I bought silage as good or better than my own.

Next is in a year where silage is scarce you will pay above feed value for silage if you can get it. Take two years ago with drought nobody was selling silage. In September I heard prices of 32-35/bake out of the yard. Add transport at 5+/ bale if travelling a distance and with middling DM silage you have an expensive feed. You then end up messing with straights or beet with the added cost and hassle.

Finally you have the hassle of sourcing and getting it delivered you probably. End up hauling a lot of it yourself. I use about 220 bales of high DM silage this year. It unlikely that I get similar for sale if they were lower DM I have to source and get delivered 300ish bales. That 21 loads to a lad delivering 14 at a time. Best case scenario would be less than two hour going, loading, returning and unloading. Maybe 3 loads ever two weeks. In theory you might source it at cutting time but. Unlikly you source it all that way.

It totally different to sourcing a few loads when stuck at the end of the year. Over the years I have found that the price of the silage is inversely proportionally to the price paid. Last year I got 50 bales delivered at 24/vale.4-4 years ago the year of the late spring I paid 40+5delivery for fairly poor quality silage but I only bough enough to provide roughage as I fed 2-2kgs od ration with it

Any amount of Sialge around here for 10euro a bale and bale it yourself, make it as dry as you like, perfect for suckler cows,

Buy silage in summer no point buying silage in spring, mugs game

memorystick wrote: »

What’s the minimum amount of cattle recommend for a pit? I’ve 60 stores getting bales. I’d 100 last winter but BEAM. Should I stick to bales if consistently keeping 70-80 cattle for the winter? Thanks. Sick of bales but have zero concrete so would have to put down a slab.

Bale silage is cheaper than pit silage to make at present. Thats even before your Allie for price for slab

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Bale silage is cheaper than pit silage to make at present. Thats even before your Allie for price for slab

8 bales/ac is break even here.

Dunedin wrote: »

I’ve being buying 80-100 off my contractor for the past few years. It is a field that was reseeded so I’ve had it since it was reseeded. I tell him when to cut it which is usually mid May weather pending around that time so it’s top quality. Delivered and stacked in my yard for €25 - I couldn’t do it for that never mind the hardship of drawing in 100 bales.

Complete no brainer as far as I’m concerned but most probably wouldn’t get an opportunity like that.

That’s great value my contractor charged me 16.50 a bale last year to bale, wrap short draw and stack my own silage and there was mowing on top of that.