Total cost of a bale of hay including land, custom rates and nutrient uptake is about $51 per bale for a 1,400-pound bale with a 1.1 tons per-acre yield. “Hay prices in the summer are $35 to $55 ...

For example, a 5-foot by 5-foot bale has 98 cubic feet of hay: (5/2)^2 x 3.14 x 5 = ~98. Loosely packed bales have a density of 9 pounds per cubic foot of hay, which equates to 880 pounds of dry feed.

When you build your own wooden hay baler, you can hand bale hay without the need for equipment, so you can shape and put away hay. I have a 10-acre farm east of Noblesville, Indiana.