Hay as a Profitable Endeavor

[Ray,IN]

Several people around here mow the highway right-of-ways. I used to be against that but with today's clean fuels I could consider it and feeding it to my animals...if I still had any.

For some unknown reason Indiana does not allow that between the divided lanes; INDOT just employs dozens of tractor drivers, and buys new JD tractors and rotary mowers every few years to mow. Seems common practice West of the Mississippi.

 

[showcrop]

We make hay as a pretend profitable endeavor and you can see how it runs here.

D

Thread 'The Farm. Haying and Cattle Thread'

Jun 1, 2026

Thought I would start a thread about what we do here. Will be mostly pictures from past and present. Been selling hay off from 200 acres acres for over 10 years now at this scale. Have a herd of Dexters, Jerseys, and Dexter/Jersey crosses for beef sales. current herd is 40+. Also help my cousin from time to time on his 1400 cow dairy in 2 states and work Preload at UPS.


Yesterday knocked down our rye for precut rye straw. Takes a week plus before it is ready and we do want it to get a little rain but not to much. First batch of 1st cutting off on May 30. Can't remember when we have done...

• deere4040
• Replies: 115
• Forum: Tractor & Farm Talk

• 

Just got done with 40 acres yesterday of small squares and rounds. This year we are giving out letters completely revamping our pricing system. We sell out of field, prebuy and stored, and winter sales if surplus. Dry hay over 180 acres with including baleage ground we are about 240 acres. Up to 4 cuttings a year with 90% of our sales directly out of the field. You have to have a highly reliable customer base and it is nothing to sell 1500 small squares out of the field across 5-10 different customers in a day. Our best day yet in the decade plus of doing it at this scale was just over 2500 bales in one day with taking 4 back to the barn. That's how clow we were running the yield. All numbers are preplanned the days before on what people are getting. Not show up and add or reduce their order size the day they picked up. In fact I talk to zero customers and do not have time. We do not take any money at the field. Some customers may leave it in a vehicle, mail payment, but lots of them will drive to the farm and deposit it in our payment box at our self serve stall where we also sell hay and straw for the customers that do not need 100's of bales. You would be surprised how many people want just 1,2,5 bales. Customers that would be annoying to deal with. We move close to 100 bales each of straw and first cutting out of the self serve a month.

Biggest thing to weed out the crap customers is

We do not delivery and we do not load.

Your operation is similar to how mine worked. For it to work that way, you need the reliable customer base, and to have that you have to make good hay.

 

[john in la]

Corn stalks are $19.99 a bundle

 

[showcrop]

For some unknown reason Indiana does not allow that between the divided lanes; INDOT just employs dozens of tractor drivers, and buys new JD tractors and rotary mowers every few years to mow. Seems common practice West of the Mississippi.

The reason is state liability.

 

[Texasmark]

View attachment 165453

Corn stalks are $19.99 a bundle

Around here on dry years they round bale corn stalks....I never had to but imagine there is nothing but fiber there and for any nourishment a tub of syrup would need to be out for the cows....along with a salt block which a lot of guys don't think about.....course if you are feeding the syrup tub, extra salt isn't necessary.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Around here on dry years they round bale corn stalks....I never had to but imagine there is nothing but fiber there and for any nourishment a tub of syrup would need to be out for the cows....along with a salt block which a lot of guys don't think about.....course if you are feeding the syrup tub, extra salt isn't necessary.

No nourishment? Isn't that silage only dry. My FIL always planted some sweet corn in with the field corn for roadside sale. After the picking he would bring the stalks in for the cows. They loved it.

 

[Tony in SD]

No nourishment? Isn't that silage only dry. My FIL always planted some sweet corn in with the field corn for roadside sale. After the picking he would bring the stalks in for the cows. They loved it.

Been a long time since ag class but if I remember correctly corn stalks (& silage with no ears or low kernel yield) are only roughage and low in TDN. However roughage is needed in ruman animals such as cattle but if you feed just corn stalks with no protein (corn kernels) your cattle would look pretty poorly after a while. Silage high in TDN has lot of corn in it. So corn stalks (usually baled after they are combined) are not the same as silage with with lots of corn kernels mixed in with it. Thus corn stalks alone provide very little nourishment.

 

[john in la]

Been a long time since ag class but if I remember correctly corn stalks (& silage with no ears or low kernel yield) are only roughage and low in TDN. However roughage is needed in ruman animals such as cattle but if you feed just corn stalks with no protein (corn kernels) your cattle would look pretty poorly after a while. Silage high in TDN has lot of corn in it. So corn stalks (usually baled after they are combined) are not the same as silage with with lots of corn kernels mixed in with it. Thus corn stalks alone provide very little nourishment.

I doubt anyone is feeding 100% corn stalks to their cows. But corn stalks low quality hay or even a desert landscape can be a percentage of a ration that includes a tub or more likely cakes.

 

[Texasmark]

No nourishment? Isn't that silage only dry. My FIL always planted some sweet corn in with the field corn for roadside sale. After the picking he would bring the stalks in for the cows. They loved it.

That's an interesting question.....I only saw the silage recovery operation once and was driving by the field.....didn't stop and watch. I do recall that the corn plants were a different seed than the seed used for corn production....silage plants were over 6' and corn production are around 4'.....both deliberately modified for the intended purpose and eliminating waste when possible.

Don't remember if the silage plants had corn ears present or not....if so the ears were still covered with leafs so they weren't distinguishable to me. The difference in the two are where the nutrition lies. In silage the entire plant is consumed. In corn stalks, most of the nutrients went into the corn ears which are missing in the round bales. To me, that's a very big deal......in the winter silage is fed for nutrition (I would imagine...never fed it) where the farmer/rancher feeding stalks has to put tubs of syrup out for the animals to get any benefit....the stalks were just there for ruminants digestive requirements......but everything here is pure speculation because as I said I never fed silage nor had to feed stalks.....got real close one year but found some good grass hay.

 

[ss55]

I doubt anyone is feeding 100% corn stalks to their cows. But corn stalks low quality hay or even a desert landscape can be a percentage of a ration that includes a tub or more likely cakes.

In the corn belt, grazing stock cows and feeder cattle on corn fields after harvest used to be a very common practice. There was enough corn kernels and whole ears on the ground to graze on until snow depth get too deep. After the snow got deep the cattle were move to the yard until pastures greened up in the Spring.

Is that done much anymore? Very few farms have livestock anymore.

 

[Texasmark]

In the corn belt, grazing stock cows and feeder cattle on corn fields after harvest used to be a very common practice. There was enough corn kernels and whole ears on the ground to graze on until snow depth get too deep. After the snow got deep the cattle were move to the yard until pastures greened up in the Spring.

Is that done much anymore? Very few farms have livestock anymore.

We used to have a lot of both but a lot of the farm land is being bought up by developers putting in housing subdivisions. Mindboggling how fast this place is growing. Glad my little farm is on the outskirts but I have to go through it when I have to go to the doctor.