Round vs rectangular bales

[Charlie M]

How much does a typical round bale weigh? I trying to figure out how many of my 45 pound rectangular bales would equal a round bale. Also what is a typical price for a round bale if you were selling in western NY.

 

[johnwayne360]

4x5 rounds 1000 lbs. 5x6 1300-1500 lbs. price of hay is crazy right now. Ive heard good dairy hay going for 400+/ton. I am in Iowa though. All weights are approximate as it depends on type of hay and how it was baled.

 

[Formerly PaMike]

Weights really vary. I have found alot of 4x5 to be around 650-700 lbs(actually weighed them). Thats for an average bale not packed super tight. If my hay is really dry I can pack a bale to 900-1000 lbs. Most people with rounds think their bale is heavier than it really is....

 

[Nate V. IA]

Ogden Iowa hay sale has what the auctioneer called "dairy quality alfalfa" but it has grass in it. He said he needs 300/ton, for 3x3 large squares- he said they weighed 1000lbs, I'd say they are really around 800.
There was some laughter when he started the bidding at $150/bale. He had around 20 bales from SD. He didn't sell any that day. There aren't very many dairy's within 40 miles of Ogden, they are about the only for profit enterprises that would be willing to pay that much. Here is a link for current northeast Iowa hay prices on a per ton basis.
Nate
Iowa Hay Prices

 

[johnwayne360]

wow..you might wanna buy hay there and bring it here..lol..
http://dyersvillesales.com/?page_id=36

 

[Erik Ks farmer]

weight has a lot to do with the condition of the hay as others have said. This last season I bought a V rake which made denser more uniform windrows. My 4x5 bales average 900lbs. As to pricing of round bales, when selling small squares the price of a round bale is not relevent.

 

[rrlund]

That's for sure. When the big 5x6s came out,they were advertised as a 1500 pound bale. Mine actually weighed about 1100. The first 4x5s were supposed to be 800 pounders,weighed about 400-600 at best. My first high density Gehl 4x5 in 1981 was supposed to be a 1200 pound bale,weighed about 900 actual.

 

[hayray]

My 4x4 out of my NH BR 730 weight around 450. Some of the 2nd cut bales will be alot heavier. So I figure 10 of my 45 lb. small squares per 4x4 round.

 

[Iowa Jim]

Bale size, crop condition, operator, and baling conditions all affect the final weight of the round bale. We regularly had 2,000 bales at harvest when we used a Vermeer 5x6 baler. Now I am selling baby round bales of grass hay that are about 500 lb.

Jim

 

[oj]

I'll second the weight comment, lots of people up here think their 5x6 round bales weigh 1800lbs... but weight them and they"re all closer to 12 -1400 lbs...

Bought a Claas 280 RC belt baler 3 years ago and always figured the 4x5.3 bales i made were just under the 1000 lb mark... had to weigh some this year, and i averaged 1300 lbs! (pure alfalfa hay, first cut)... very surprised, and have adjusted my prices accordingly!

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 08:23:28 12/30/11) How much does a typical round bale weigh?

You could get as many different answers if you asked what does a woman weigh?

Legume hay will outweigh grass hay. Type of baler,moisture content and operator will also affect bale weight. With the hay shortage in Texas it's common for hay sellers to advertise 1000# 4X5 bale at say $100 per bale. If I ask the seller if that means they will sell the load for $200 a ton they either say "NO" or hang up on me. A load I got from Tenn the seller stated the bales weighed 1000# ea. and they averaged 820#s. I also bought some 4X5.5 bales that a Missouri farmer stated his last years bales weighed 1100#s but these weighed 980#s when I weighed them.

It's very difficult to make a 1000# 4X5 bale of grass hay.

 

[JK-NY]

I had some baled by my neighbor with a Gehl- 4x5 bale was about 800#.That would be 18-20 squares. Typical price depends on bale size , hay quality and if it is stored inside or outside. In my experience round baled hay will bring about 2/3 the price of small squares around here if compared by the ton price - less than that if it sets outside all winter. May be you could check on Craigs list to see prices in your area.

 

[WyoDave]

I just shipped a load of 5x6 2nd cutting alfalfa/grass hay net wrapped bales to Texas, and they averaged 1800lbs. I know because the truck came back from the scale to remove some weight.

 

[Ron/PA]

Charlie, I've been watching this thread and can't help a bit with the conversions, but down here just south of you it's mostly all sold by the ton at auction or in larger deals. By the bale to smaller customers out the door.

Here's some hay prices from around PA. and they're all in tons, and I don't think any of them differentiate between bale size or shapes.

Hope it helps a little.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ln_gr111.txt

 

[Charlie M]

I've always sold mine by the bale. I only have about 1500 bales per year and have four customers that take it all. The reason I'm asking is my latest customer uses way more hay than I have and has been making up the difference with round bales. I'm wondering what the economics are to be competing with round bales.

 

[kyhayman]

No one answer. Bulk density per cubic inch is the variable and baler settings, belt tension, and material being baled all affect that. Last load I had weighed averaged a shade over 800 pounds each for 4x5's first cutting. Last load I sent south averaged just under 1000 pounds each for a load of 38. These are 4x5's, spring cut, NH 650 baler, hydraulic tension set at 1400 psi. I bought some 5x4's out of a NH 851 this year with some operator error involved on setting the tension springs that weighed 500 and change.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 16:52:45 12/31/11) I'm wondering what the economics are to be competing with round bales.

As previously stated by other posters my experience is sq bales will make more money than rd bales all things equal.