What is the average harvest for 80lb square bales of hay per acre?

Question

What is the average harvest for 80lb square bales of hay per acre?

Answer 1

There are so many varriables, this question cannot be answered.

What country are you in?

What is your soil like?

What TYPE of hay are you speaking about?  Some hay is only harvested once a year, so not much yeild.  Alfalfa is harvested 3-5 times in a growing season, and will have the highest yeild of all the hays.

How long is the hay being cured in the sun?  The more you allow it to dry in the sun, the less it weighs, and the more food value you loose in the hay.  However if you put up hay that is too wet, you run the risk of spontaneous combustion.

If you are talking about alfalfa hay, average yeild is 5-6 tons per acre, for the entire growing season.  That means the hay was harvested on average three times, during the growing season, to attain the 5-6 tons per acre.  

Some farmers are getting 8 tons per acre of alfalfa hay, and a few are getting 12 tons per acre, with exceptional management, and usually the application of additional fertilizers.

A ton is 2000lbs.  That means you would have twenty five, 80lb bales of hay per ton.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 2

that all depends on where in the world you are

Answer 3

Depends on a lot of things - what kind of hay, irrigated or not, location, season, etc. - but where I'm from in Colorado an alfalfa/rye mix, irrigated, will usually yield about 2 1/2 - 3 tons per acre, per cutting, for the first two cuttings.  There will be a third cutting but it's not going to be as much.  Hope this helps.