Needing hay baled

[FarmersTan]

Im just getting into the cattle business and dont know alot about it.  Rented a new place thats all in pasture but im wanting to bale about half of it and notill that to beans and run cattle on the rest.  Whats typical for baling?  Talked to one guy and they wanted 2/3 that seemed pretty high to me.  I thought i use to remember dad doing it 50/50 on shares.  I guess it varies by area but do most do it on shares or on a per bale cost?  Also about how many bales can i expect per acre?  It is in fescue that i would say is in slightly below average fertility if that helps.

[nwobcw]

   50-50 is the usual standard here.   But maybe he thinks it is a challenging field and will require more than the normal amount of time for what the field will produce.

[FarmersTan]

its a square with a pond in the middle, ive never baled before, but i cant see it being a challange.

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

Here is some KSU info.

http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/agec2/mf2146.pdf

It probably costs $15/acre to mow and rake and about $11/bale for large round net wrapped.  Compare that with the value of the bale sitting in the field to decide what the ratio should be if you do it on shares. 

[nwobcw]

  Ask someone else and see what they say.  Maybe that's the normal way in your area.

[Nebrfarmr]

Around here, if you do hay on a share basis, it is 1/4 for cutting it & getting the hay in a windrow.  It doesn't seem to matter much if a mower/condidioner is used, or if it is simply mown & raked.  The next 1/4 is for baling the hay, and piling the bales into rows.  The owner of the land gets the remaining half.  Getting the bales from the field 'home' is up to whoever's bales they are.   Things can be adjusted a bit if the field is rough or particularly time-consuming to cut or bale.   Hope that helps.