It is customary in many areas to price hay by the bale. Purchasing and selling hay by the ton is rapidly becoming a more equitable method of buying hay. Purchasing hay by the ton allows buyers to know precisely how much hay they are getting for their money, provided the hay is cured properly and accurately weighed. The following charts can be used as a guide to convert from bale prices to ton prices
Useful Conversion Formulas
To convert the price per ton to price per bale:
- Determine average weight of bales you are purchasing in pounds.
- Divide the price per ton by 2,000 and multiply the results by the average weight of the bales to determine the price per bale.
Example: You are considering purchasing hay at $160 per ton. You determine the average bale weighs 50 pounds. What is the price per bale?
($160/ton) divided by (2,000 lbs/ton) multiplied by (50 lbs/bale) = $4 per bale
To convert price per bale to price per ton:
- Determine average weight per bale.
- Divide 2,000 by the average weight per bale to get the number of bales per ton.
- Multiply the number of bales per ton by the price per bale to get the price per ton.
Example: You are considering purchasing hay for $4 per bale. What would you be paying for each ton of hay purchased? You determine the average bale weight to be 45 pounds.
(2,000 lbs/ton) divided by (45 lbs/bale) multiplied by ($4/bale) = $177.78 per ton
Source: North Carolina Cooperative Extension
