Hay Bale Converter

How this converter works

Hay is sold by the bale, the pound or the ton, and a ton is 2,000 pounds. Enter the number of bales and the weight per bale to get total pounds and tons, or enter tons to see how many bales you will get. The bale weights in the list are typical averages that the converter fills in for you, and you can override them with your own measured weight.

Typical bale weights

A worked example

A load of 100 small square bales at 50 pounds each weighs 5,000 pounds, or 2.5 tons. If a horse eats about 20 pounds of hay a day, that load feeds one horse for 250 days, or about 8 months. For quantities per animal, see the livestock ration converter.

Common mix-ups

• Prices quoted per bale and per ton are not comparable until you convert them with the real bale weight.
• Wet or damp hay weighs more but gives less feed per pound. Buy hay at 15 percent moisture or less where you can, and store it dry.
• Dry matter, not as-fed weight, is what animals need, so a bale that feels heavy may have less feed than a lighter, drier one.

Where these numbers come from

Typical bale weights come from extension forage guides and vary widely with hay type, moisture and baler setting. The ton is the US short ton of 2,000 pounds. Weigh your own bales for accuracy.