The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Erin Jenkins

The True Cost of Hay

Factors to Consider…• Equipment and

maintenance• Fuel• Labor

• Fertilizer application• Soil Testing• Hay Test Analysis• Fertilizer application

• Planting and harvesting• Seeds• Application• Labor

• Hauling and Feeding

• Storage

Equipment and MaintenanceEquipment and maintenance required for planting and harvesting hay

• Current market value of machinery and equipment.

• Machinery depreciation- the declining value of assets.

• Wage rate- total cost of labor involved in hay harvest and planting.

• Annual cost of supervisory management- Management overseeing hay harvest and hauling

• Fuel used for planting, harvesting, and hauling hay.

• Insurance rate for the machinery and equipment as a percentage of it’s total market value.

• Annual repair costs

• Miscellaneous costs- hay-wrap, twine, or wire per bale.

Calculating Cost at Harvest

Operation Average Cost per Acre

*Cutting, Raking, Baling Large Bales $26.00

*Flat Rate of Hauling 1 Round Bale $5.75

Total $31.75 round bale/acre

* Doye, Damona, and Roger Sahs. Oklahoma Farm and Ranch Custom Rates, 2011-2012. Publication no. CR-205. N.p.: Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, n.d. Print.

What’s being taken out of the field?

*Analysis Result

ADF, Fiber 51 %

Crude Protein 9 %

Moisture 12.1 %

TDN 51.55 %

Nitrogen 1.45 %

Total Calcium 4,735 mg/Kg

Total Potassium 12,200 mg/Kg

Total Magnesium 1,745 mg/Kg

Total Phosphorus 1,840 mg/Kg

Total Sulfur 1,395 mg/Kg

Average hay analysis of nutritional value from large round hay bales.

* Samples were taken from The Kerr Center’s large round bales.

Planting and Fertilizing Calculation

Operation Average Cost per Acre

Rate Used/Acre

*Disking the soil $12.00 1 Pass ($12.00)

Wheat seed $0.275/lb 15 lbs ($4.13)

*Drill wheat, conventional $10.00 1 Pass ($10.00)

Soil Analysis $10.00 $10.00

DAP (18-46-0) $580/ton ($2.24/lbs) $11.12

Potash (0-0-62) $530/ton ($0.16/lbs) $51.41

Ammonium Nitrate (34-0-0) $470/ton ($0.69/lbs) $65.80

Total: $164.46/Acre* Doye, Damona, and Roger Sahs. Oklahoma Farm and Ranch Custom Rates, 2011-2012. Publication no. CR-205. N.p.: Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, n.d. Print.

Total Cost per Acre

Average harvest of 1200 pound round bales per acre is 2.5 bales.

2.5 bales per acre X $31.75 per bale= $79.38 of bales per acre

$164. 46 + 79.38= $243.84 per acre

Fertilizer Application• Soil fertility- soil’s ability to provide essential plant nutrients in

adequate amounts and proper proportions to sustain plant growth. It is a component of the soil productivity that is quite variable and strongly influenced by management.

• Soil management includes using the best available knowledge, techniques, materials, and equipment in crop management. Proper utilization of crop residues can be a key management practice.

• Crop residues returned to the soil can improve soil productivity through the addition of organic matter and plant nutrients. The organic matter also contributes to an improved physical condition of the soil, which increases water infiltration and storage and aides aeration.

• Before applying fertilizer, a soil test must be done to confirm what the limiting nutrient(s) is in the soil.

When a farmer harvests a field at the end of a season, nutrients are

also being harvested out of the soil. Unless hay is fed back to the

cattle on the same ground it is grown, nutrients can be lost. There is

a cycle in which the plant takes up nutrients it needs, and when it

dies many of the nutrients, such as nitrogen, is released back into

the soil. When the plant is harvested and taken away, nutrients must

be replaced if a desirable crop is to be grown the next year. Ground

cover is also lost in this process, which can lead to topsoil erosion.

Hauling and Feeding• The cost of hauling hay out of the field to the storage

barn, then from the storage barn to the field, can be time and fuel costly.

• Feeding methods can also have an effect on how much loss you can have.

• Feeding hay without a • feeder can bring a loss • up to 50%.

• Cattle tug and pull the • hay loose and stomp it

into the soil where it becomes spoiled.

StorageThere are two main ways to store hay bales

Outdoor Storage Indoor (Barn)

Storage

Storage InsideAdvantages

• Can reduce soil moisture/hay contact,

• Reduce outdoor precipitation,

• Reduce loss to spoilage.

• Increase hay nutritional value

Disadvantages

• Decreased storage space

• Increase in accidental incidents such as bales falling.

• Damage to barns if too much pressure is built on the side walls.

• Welcoming environment for unwelcome critters such as skunks, raccoons, and opossums.

Storage OutsideAdvantages

• Increased storage space

• Less wildlife interference

Disadvantages

• Increase moisture and spoilage

• Less nutritional value

• Heat exposure

Storage Outside

Storing bales on pallets or gravel rows will help decrease

ground moisture spoilage.

Bales should not be stacked if they are stored outside. If they

are, then a tarp or covering should be applied.

Ways to Decrease the Need of Hay

Grazing management- the manipulation of animal grazing to achieve optimum and sustained animal, plant, land, environmental or economic results while ensuring a continuous supply of forages to grazing animals.

• Decrease soil and nutrition loss by water runoff,

• Increase infiltration in the soil,

• Maintain high amounts of organic matter to improve rapid nutrient recycling to the soil,

• To manage a healthy and productive pasture that will ensure the full productive potential of grazing land.

• Thus, decreasing the amount of fertilizer needed in the soil, reducing the time and labor needed to harvest, and decreasing the amount of fuel loss needed to run equipment for harvesting, hauling, and feeding.

Feeding Methods

Modified cone feeder with sheeting at bottom.

Conventional open bottom steel ring feeder. Light and

inexpensive, however it can waste up to 21% of hay.

Conventional steel ring feeder with sheeting on bottom. Hay wastage can

be reduced to approximately 13%

Feeding Methods

A modified cone feeder set on a trailer.

Feeder with roofing to keep rain and moisture off of bales.

Feeder is also lifted to prevent ground moisture.

Comparing Skirting Methods

A farmer can save up to 8% of the hay loss just by adding a skirt to the hay ring. 8 percent may not be a whole lot, but lets say a farmer has 100 head of cattle, and in 120 days (the average length of hay feeding period in Oklahoma) those cattle consume 25 pounds per head per day.

120 Days X 100 Head X 25 lbs/Head/Day= 300,000 lbs

300,000 lbs X 8% hay saved= 24,000 lbs hay saved or 12 tons

More Over the True Cost of Hay

SunUpTV of Oklahoma State University

Hay Feeders

Hay Feeder Research http://youtu.be/1-u9BUflNN8

Hay Feeder Research: The Results

Efficient Hay Use (11/10/12)

http://youtu.be/3Pljlb0gWP4

http://youtu.be/f5Ou0csDNgY

http://youtu.be/XDf3q3vsVG0

Questions??