beefandsleep
Member
- Location
- Staffordshire
Wish you were my customer [emoji846][emoji106]
Rate for baling quadrant bales
- Thread starter Loading shovel
- Start date
- Location
- Huntingdon, UK
Would be about £5 round here for baling straw in quads.
As for short bales, 2x4fts = 1x8ft. There is an extra 24ft of string in 2x4fts and more bales on the count for depreciation so half price plus a bit. £3 sounds about right.
As for short bales, 2x4fts = 1x8ft. There is an extra 24ft of string in 2x4fts and more bales on the count for depreciation so half price plus a bit. £3 sounds about right.
Speedstar
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
Point is in the wrong place , blood phones
- Location
- Cornwall
Bale pressure or density has a massive effect on wear and tear and bale count .. Saw a contractor near here charging £2 a bale .... But then saw his bales ! They were like soft bundles and there were hundreds of them !!
We charge £4.50 a bale.. For straw & hay .. Good tight bales at least 8ft.
We charge £4.50 a bale.. For straw & hay .. Good tight bales at least 8ft.
Hesston4860s
Member
- Location
- Nr Lincoln
£3.50 here which is penny a kilo, needs to be much more as it's just not paying !.
jthomsonagri
Member
Same as that down here in Devon, 20 years ago it was £3 per bale. The extra 50p doesn't go very far when you think diesel back then was only something like 11p litre and a lot of farm workers were lucky to be on something like £5 per hour. Also the cost of machinery and tractors must have doubled in that time.
Best I can get is £3 for a 4 string 80x90, £3.50 for a 6 string 120x70 and £4.25 for a 6 string 120x90. Try and up the charges a bit and before you know it someone else is in baling it next time.
- Location
- Snodland kent
You guys must need to charge more to cover the time spent cleaning down between farms? After all you don't want to be accused of spreading grass weeds around the countryside
Grassman
Member
- Location
- Derbyshire
I'm struggling to understand your workings here
beefandsleep
Member
- Location
- Staffordshire
Not per bale though, which seems to be where the confusion is arising.
- Location
- Huntingdon, UK
If you bale a field of 4ft bales it will take you (for example) 30 seconds per bale and 2 hours in total.
If you bale it in 8ft bales then it will take you 60 seconds per bale, but still 2 hours in total as the baler throughput is the same.
Therefore your diesel cost, labour cost, tractor cost, pickup / stuffer bale chamber spares repairs costs are identical.
However there would be more string used IN TOTAL on 4ft bales as on a 120x70x120 bale there is 22.8m of string and on a 120x70x240 bale there is 37.2m of string.
However 8ft bales are twice as long as 4ft bales, so there will be more straw per string in an 8ft than a 4ft.
10x 4ft bales = 228m string
5x 8ft bales = 186m string
In reality, 2x4fts will cost £0.25p more per bale in string than 1x 8ft.
You also have twice as many knots, so more wear and tear on the knotters. Also more bales on the count will reduce the resale value of the baler.
So a 4ft bale should not be the same price as an 8ft bale. But it should not be 50% of the price either as there is more cost.
If other people round here were charging 3.50 per bale for an 8ft quadrant then they can come and bale for me and my balers can stay in the shed. I can sit in the pub and and save money!
If you bale it in 8ft bales then it will take you 60 seconds per bale, but still 2 hours in total as the baler throughput is the same.
Therefore your diesel cost, labour cost, tractor cost, pickup / stuffer bale chamber spares repairs costs are identical.
However there would be more string used IN TOTAL on 4ft bales as on a 120x70x120 bale there is 22.8m of string and on a 120x70x240 bale there is 37.2m of string.
However 8ft bales are twice as long as 4ft bales, so there will be more straw per string in an 8ft than a 4ft.
10x 4ft bales = 228m string
5x 8ft bales = 186m string
In reality, 2x4fts will cost £0.25p more per bale in string than 1x 8ft.
You also have twice as many knots, so more wear and tear on the knotters. Also more bales on the count will reduce the resale value of the baler.
So a 4ft bale should not be the same price as an 8ft bale. But it should not be 50% of the price either as there is more cost.
If other people round here were charging 3.50 per bale for an 8ft quadrant then they can come and bale for me and my balers can stay in the shed. I can sit in the pub and and save money!
- Location
- Cornwall
- Location
- Huntingdon, UK
Your total bill would be more for 4ft bales as 8ft bales to account for string and knotters etc.
But your price per bale would be less.
I.e
100 8fts @ £5 = £500
200 4fts @ £3 = £600
Hesston4860s
Member
- Location
- Nr Lincoln
Well it's finally happened like I knew it one day would. On Sunday night my Baler sh1t it pants and with the cheap baling rate of £3.50, there's no money in the pot to fix it !.
Season over.
Season over.
Grassman
Member
- Location
- Derbyshire
Sorry to hear that. This should messaged to every young contractor who thinks undercutting the opposition is the way to their fortune.
It really is better to charge a proper rate and leave the machine in the shed if its not attainable!
I broke a small part in the knotters on mine. Came home with a small cardboard box of parts from supplier and a bill for £750!!
Hesston4860s
Member
- Location
- Nr Lincoln
I fully hear what your saying parts are extortionately priced. And with the rate round here being so low it's very hard to make it work. I'm in some ways glad to be out of it, but you can't use a broken Baler and you can't sell one either !.
Grassman
Member
- Location
- Derbyshire
What's broken?
beefandsleep
Member
- Location
- Staffordshire