#1 Farming SCAM - You MUST Cut Hay

That’s the loosest round bales I’ve ever seen anyone spend hard earned money on. I hope it’s good quality

I prefer making my own hay. Buying from others has not been satisfactory. I bought a used 60 yr old New Holland baler that has been repaired and updated by the Amish--it works perfectly. I also have a small 3x3 Japanese made round baler that also works perfectly. I use a hay accumulater and grabber for the small bales. I will be putting up at least 1,000 small squares and about 150 round bales this year. I'm preparing for the drought which has already hit my area in Indiana. I don't plan to sell hay but use it exclusively for my flock of sheep. It gives me peace of mind knowing I have taken care of my flock. I am 80 years old.

You forgot one important point! Those equipment break-downs (repairs) you mentioned will only happen in the middle of the field, farthest from the barn, in 100 degree heat with all your hay on the ground, while storm clouds are moving in. I am so glad you made this video. MY granddaddy used to say: "Make good beef or make good hay , don't try both"

One major math mistake is using the total cost of your equipment in the first year as if it’s your only year of hay making. The $14,000 would be amortized over, say, 7 years so your annual equipment cost is $2,000, not $14,000. Math works out massively different now. At $2500 a year you would be down to 65 bales a year. Not 300+ bales.

My brother and I spent a bunch of time researching, talking to friends, and watching marketplace over about a year. We were able to get a square baler, mower and rake of less than a grand. We made just shy of 1000 bales last year with that equipment, and paid a guy $10 a bale for him to round bale about 40 bales to get us through winter. We did have a Farmall 560 and a 3901 Kubota that we already owned. Our big positive is we have access to land that people just need mowed to keep it from getting over grown. This year we bought a round baler for 4500 that’s in pretty good shape and a haybine $1000. Those 2 additions has been big and has helped us get over 100 4x5 rounds made already. I enjoy making hay and don’t really consider it work as it’s very different than the job I do everyday. That being said, I 100% understand what you mean. It’s a lot of work.

It's fun to see you evolving from year to year. You are definitely not afraid to admit failure and emediatly try something new. I enjoy following your channel. God bless to you and your family!

We had a two year drought and now Tractor Supply near Houston is selling the large round ones for $159 per bale. Delivery not included. None of the neighbors want to sell their hay at any price. Buying corn was cheaper than the hay. Droughts change everything.

Really? 🤣 Try 64 acres of hay fields ... 1,300+ round bales per year with 200+ head of cattle on 304 acres that is a large percentage of woodland. Seeing how non-wrapped round bales cost $50+ or more. I'm looking at $65,000+ or more just to feed my cattle from late-Nov. to mid-April before they are turned back out on pasture in the spring. 60 rolls of 20" Favor Seal - $4,920 (+$1,000 in non-treated bale twine) 800 gallon of Offroad Diesel Fuel - $1,800 Equipment Maintenance - $ <$2,000 per year (routine preventive maintenance keeps cost low) Fertilizer - $1,300 (fields are covered with cow manure all winter long hence low fertilizer bill) Sure, I'm a professional farmer who's also a machinist/welder with a degree in EE which means for the most part I can avoid that price gouging scam that the equipment dealers are running. Also, most of my equipment is 40-50 years old making it way more reliable than the overpriced garbage their selling these days and it's much easier to repair 😁 It's costing me around $15K to make 1,100+ high-quality wrapped silage along with a few hundred dry bales if the weather allows it. The quality of hay I'm producing far exceeds the low-grade garbage you can buy! Around $50,000 in cattle sales during the good years. Yeah, I'd say making your own hay is still worth the effort unless your some hobby farmer who's wife is funding your operation in which case I'd sit on my ass too and just pay someone else to do all the work 😈

I am a 68 year old Iowa weak end farmer, like my Dad said,farming is an expensive hobby.

Chuck, I'm not sure if you have stacked hay standing up like that in the past, but I had an issue here in Maine stacking it that way. it drew moisture out of the ground and ruined not only the bottom bales, but up into the bales stacked on top. Now I stack them "laying down" and have not had any more issues. Obviously, the moisture can still move a bit into the bale, but it does not ruin the whole bale. I'd hate to see you lose $2k in hay. I did see you put a tarp down. If that has worked for you in the past, disregard my hard lesson learned. Best wishes. David

I say, do what works for you and your farm. ❤️

Hope those bales were cheap. Never seen bales soft enough to stab with pallet forks before...😂

A GREAT show! I learned many years ago about making hay; I keep hay under the hoof, feed only when bad weather or drought. I get 4’ X 5’ for $50 a bale and I’m a good stacker

It all depends on your personal situation and location. If you have a heavily stocked cow/calf operation and have neighbors or really close suppliers that know what they're doing, that's great! If you have spotty or low quality suppliers, you may be better off just buying steers in the spring, sell in the fall, and let the farm lay in the winter...

Great video. Someone already posted about storing on the ends and the danger of water wicking in the bail. Those bales looked really loose too. Hay is much cheaper in WV.

Great video! That’s something I actually didn’t take into consideration that just buying hay versus buying the equipment. Plus I think you under seller the time factor. Time is money. It’s all about what you prioritize. Well thought out video on different aspects of how and why.

I love all your posts, so informative

Thanks for the video. I appreciate videos about the business aspects of farming. Calling it a scam is a clickbait title. It is just a bad business idea for some farms.

Your analytical mind is so spot on. Some peoples expertise is making hay. Your expertise is business side of farming. These best practices will make you very successful as it has. Touché Chuck on the Farm

Wait until you hit a drought. My Dad has been spending $140 a round bale since last summer. We had a big drought last summer in Texas but he also had to buy for the winter time. Lucky things have changed and no longer in a drought but it adds up quickly.