Hay Bale Sizes

We bale a lot of hay here - mostly for the horse industry! Freight is paramont in the hay industry and we are constantly doing what we can to maximize our freight and make things as easy as possible for our customers. We are trying to go to a 40lb bale to make the bales easier to handle for our average customer - women! What are your thoughts on ideal bale sizes? Attached is a couple photos of our new bales. Your imput is appreciated.

If you sell by the pound I guess it does not matter how much each bale weighs.

I am guessing if you sell by the bale you will have upset customers.



We bale our own field and we intentionally made our bales light so it was easier for me to stack and handle them.

Yes, I forgot to mention that everything here is sold by the Ton.

I think it's a good idea :)
The hay we have now is about 60lbs a bale. Between the weight, size and tight strings I have trouble getting them off the stack and down the hay drop... a whopping 20 feet, and I consider myself strong for a woman.

So, yes, excellent idea!!!

I actully like the heavier bales. For me it means only having to carry one bale out the the pasture, instead of two, and possibly two trips.

I'd love a 40lb bale!

We currently have a barn full of about 100lb bales because it was the only *good* all grass hay at a reasonable price that we could find. Once the bales are in the barn it's not too much of an issue, I can break them apart in there or finagle one into a wheelbarrow.

Getting the hay into the barn is the difficulty, since we do not have a way to haul it ourselves, we get a truckload at a time delivered to save on delivery costs. Since I am slightly over 100lbs myself, there is no way I could move and stack a truckload of 100lb bales. So my non horse-loving husband and his brother end up having to do it. I'd greatly prefer doing it myself (the whining gets old) with lighter bales.

My hay supplier makes 50-55 lbs bales. Just right for couple horses for a day. :)

As some of us get older and our backs are not what they used to be, we try and buy lighter bales. 40 pounds would be a blessing in our world.

Wow, 40 pounds sounds really light to me. But then again, when we were getting the small square bales of alfalfa, they would range in weight from 75 to 125 pounds. After stacking 2 tons of that in the barn, my 40 pound saddle felt like a feather LOL. So long as you are selling by the ton, I think 40 lb bales would be nice.

Ditto. My bales are about 100 to 115 pounds, and I only have help about half the time I unload my 8 bales, lol. If I could buy by the pound instead of by the bale, a 40lb bale would be amazingly wonderful. =]