Interesting Market

[ASRG]

nicolas: so in reality if you can buy in that straw at $20/bale you are actually making money? How much fertilizer value does a 1200 lb. straw bale have?

[ALLFARMER]

I would figure close to 20$/bale fertilizer value. I
can likely have all the bales I want this fall for that.
Yes that's in the swath. Lots of guys have too
much straw in some areas and are happy to get
rid of it. Makes it much easier for seeding next
year. When ever my grain farmer neighbor's
daughter needs hay or straw for her horses they
know where to call. Always be on good terms
with your neighbors if at all possible.

[nicolaas]

You bet, the nutrient value is suprisingly high, and the cost of running the baler, tractor, wages, moving bales from field, add up fast.It was a couple years ago I did the numbers, but the info (#'s of N, P, K, s, /lb of straw) is discussed in the AB research papers. In huge straw areas, for sure the economics are better. 20 bucks a bale, good deal!!! Definately not an exact science. Could do tests of the straw for the breakdown if someone was that interested. Conversley, there are also articles stating that most nutrients are stored in the bottom 1/3 of the plant and roots, - then not much would be lost. I still feed straw, I cannot justify having farmland in hay. Sometimes it is just kind of interesting / depressing running the numbers.

[grassfarmer]

Don't worry nicolaas Allfarmer can do it all for free -
running tractors, baling straw, hauling straw, feeding
bales, filling pails of pellets, hauling and spreading
manure. He figures he can make more money than
any of us by not counting half his input costs.

[smcgrath76]

It costs to feed cows, although straw
may be a very viable alternative in a
ration. No matter what you do, running
a tractor is not cheap. It took us a
long time to learn how to chase margins
rather than production and focus on land
health rather than cows (although we are
very proud of our cows. We are not
really a cow outfit, we are an ecosystem
management outfit that uses good cows as
a way to market some of our products.
I agree that a JD tour would be neat,
and a HM course is also cool. Anything
that encourages learning on any topic is
great. Application of results may vary.

[GaryE]

Here's an interesting piece by Allan Savory on Holistic Management
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vpTHi7O66pI#!

[ALLFARMER]

I own nearly all my equipment and yes will happily
work without drawing a farm wage. I also have a
self made net worth high enough to never work
another day in my life if I so choose.

If the job is never worth more to you than the
pay.....it will never pay more.

[sumdumguy]

Allfarmer, we deserve to do what the h you
please, good on you!

[DogPatch]

Not even a JD can make a 1200 lb bale of straw.

[grassfarmer]

Not true dogpatch. I've bought oat straw bales in the
past from a JD 567 baler at over 1250lb. All weighed
over a legal scale. Fairly green straw off a huge, heavy
oat stand.