How much does it cost to produce hay?

How much does it cost to produce hay?

When full cost of production is accounted for, hay generally costs between $70 and $140/ton to produce. On smaller operations that own a full line of equipment, the cost can easily exceed $200/ton. In most natural rainfall areas, beef cow- quality hay can be purchased for less than even the cost level.

How much does it cost to farm an acre of hay?

He says it costs about $297 per acre to seed and prepare hay ground. “You are going to get more than three years out of that, but if we use three years, that’s about $100 per acre per year,” Brown says. “If you are getting $125 per ton for quality hay, you are going to see a profit of $51 per ton, or $204 per acre.

How much does it cost to plant 1 acre of alfalfa?

Alfalfa has to be planted at around 25 pounds per acre if I remember correctly. A 50 pound bag of seed is around $200 last I heard a few years back, so $100 an acre just for seed. Probably $120-150 per acre including tillage costs.

How much does a ton of alfalfa cost?

The start of 2020 saw the average U.S. price for alfalfa drop $4 per ton from December. The latest USDA Agricultural Prices report pegged alfalfa at $171 per ton, which was $8 per ton lower than one year ago.

How much hay will an acre produce?

The average U.S. dry hay yield (all types) dropped from 2.52 tons per acre in 2016 to 2.44 tons per acre in 2017. For alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixtures, the average yield declined from 3.45 tons per acre in 2016 to 3.32 tons per acre in 2017.

How do you price standing alfalfa?

Steps in calculating the price of standing forage.

1. Estimate the price/ton for the average quality hay that would be expected to be produced from the field (cutting).
2. Estimate the yield/acre.
3. Calculate the gross revenue: price × yield.
4. Estimate costs not incurred if forage is sold standing in the field instead of as hay.

How much can you make growing alfalfa?

Over a three-year average, alfalfa returns a profit of $98.82/acre compared to a $44.77/acre return for corn and $39.68/acre for soybeans, Miller estimated using information from Midwestern farms compiled through the FINBIN database.

Is alfalfa more profitable than corn?

As you can see below, using USDA & extension averages along with current market data, alfalfa may be up to $100 more profitable per acre than corn and even more so when compared to soybeans. Enter your own yield and related expenses to help determine your profitability.

How many acre is a ton of alfalfa?

NASS also reported alfalfa hay yields of 3.36 tons per acre, but remember that this does not include haylage, so a reasonable working alfalfa hay yield figure is 4.5 tons per acre. Average yields are from a broad range of conditions, so you must estimate what your yield potential is based on past history.

Specifically, alfalfa-grade hay bales are priced between $140 and $165 per ton, while grass, midquality hay bales are selling for $125 to $150 per ton. Additionally, how much does a round bale of hay cost 2019?

How many bales of hay do you get per acre?

The total number of bales of hay that can be harvested per acre varies from place to place, although a typical hay farm in western Oregon may produce between 62 and 165 bales per acre.

How much hay should I feed?

One must account for this in determining how much hay to feed. If a 1,200-pound mature pleasure horse needs to consume 24 pounds of hay daily, feed at least 10 percent more hay, or about 27 pounds. If the horse cleans up this amount of hay, feed more if it is needed to maintain or increase body condition.