De Forest, WI | Jf2 - 5/25/2023 23:21 Neighbor wants to bale 50 acres of very good straw. Combine windrows. What is a fair price per ton or big bale
Depends on the type of straw. The nutrients leaving the field in this example:
The actual amounts of N, P2O5 and K2O contained in a ton of wheat straw are 13, 3.3 and 23 pounds respectively, according to Michigan State University Extension bulletin E-2904.
If you figure the following prices:
Urea (46-0-0) @ $575/ton = $.2875 x (13/.46=28.26lbs) = $8.12
DAP (18-46-0) @ $850/ton = .425 x (3.3/.46=7.17lbs) = $3.05
K2O (0-0-60) @ 575/ton = .2875 x (23/.60=38.33lb) = 11.02
Then in one ton of straw you have $22.19 just in nutrient inputs.
You would need to get at LEAST that much just to pay for the nutrients leaving your field. If you sprayed the crop, did tillage, etc. then factor in what that is worth based on the nutrient percentage of the total crop. If the grain removed X and the straw removed Y, then figure out the percentage of each. Take your total input costs per acre (minus the fertilizer since we have that above in tons) and multiply it by the straws portion. You then need to know how many tons of straw you had on average per acre. How many bales did you get per acre/estimate per acre? Figure out the weight and then add in the cost of the non-fertilizer component. Then you will arrive at the trust COST to YOU to produce the straw.
I would then add a decent profit to the straw. What was your profit on the grain? 5-10% over all expenses, more? Tack that on to the straw.
If the person buying it is using it for bedding or putting it through as part of a ration (yes some people do that), those nutrients are eventually going back on his field. So they have a value.
If you compared what a small square goes for HERE, $5/bale @ 45lbs per bale, then a ton of straw should bring $222. That is probably way more than the neighbor wants to pay, but it gives you an idea why people make and sell small squares if they have a market for it. Around here I see ads on craigs list for $50 for a 3x3x8. If they are tight they would be 600-700 lbs so $150/ton. If he is baling it then discount some for you not having to do it and the related costs.
I would sell by weight and not by the bale if the neighbor will do that. Otherwise, he will pack them as tight as he possibly can and maybe make them a smidge long to reduce his price. Weight is a better way to sell. Then he can make them whatever size he wants and you get paid for what the crop made.
Edited by moon1234 5/26/2023 04:27
|
Wheat straw bales
