How many bales of hay are in a ton?

Short answer

About 40 small squares or 4 round bales — but small squares run 29–57 to the ton and 4×4 rounds 3–5, so weigh yours

A ton of hay is 2,000 lb, so bales per ton is 2,000 divided by what one bale weighs. A small square of 35–70 lb (Cornell, Purdue) is 29–57 to the ton — about 40 at 50 lb. A medium square of 100–140 lb (Purdue) is 14–20. A 4×4 round of 400–600 lb (WVU) is 3.3–5; a 4×5 of 700–1,000 lb is 2–2.9; a 5×6 of 1,200–1,700 lb is 1.2–1.7. The ranges are the point: Texas A&M's table puts a 4×4 round at 563 lb and Florida's at 512, and both assume every bale has the same density, which real bales don't.

The arithmetic

Bales per ton = 2,000 ÷ bale weight in pounds. US hay is sold by the short ton, 2,000 lb.
Worked examples: a 50-lb small square is 2,000 ÷ 50 = 40 to the ton; a 500-lb 4×4 round is 4; a 1,400-lb 5×6 round is 1.4, so one bale is 0.7 of a ton.
Price per ton = price per bale × bales per ton. Texas A&M's example: a $45 round of 880 lb is $102.27 a ton, and a $45 round of 1,100 lb is $81.82 — the same $45 a bale, a 25% difference in price.
If you can't weigh it, estimate by volume. A round bale 4 ft wide and 4 ft across is about 50 cubic feet; at Penn State's 9–12 lb of dry matter per cubic foot, that is roughly 450–600 lb of dry matter, and more as baled once the moisture is counted (our arithmetic).

Why does a 4×4 round bale weigh 400, 512, 563 or 750 lb?

Because bale weight is volume times density, and every source assumes a different density — or skips the question.

West Virginia University: 4×4 rounds weigh 400–600 lb, 4×5 700–1,000 lb, 5×6 1,200–1,700 lb, and the weight depends on size, density and moisture
UF/IFAS (AN326): Estimates 4×4 at 512 lb, 4×5 at 800, 5×5 at 1,000 and 5×6 at 1,441 — every bale given the same density as a 5×5, 10.17 lb per cubic foot
Texas A&M (ANSC-PU-157): Estimates 4×4 at 563 lb, 4×5 at 880, 5×5 at 1,100 and 5×6 at 1,584, at 11.21 lb per cubic foot; the same 5×5 bale at 9.5 to 12.3 lb per cubic foot weighs 935 to 1,210 lb
Purdue (PPP-157): Lumps 4×4 and 4×5 rounds together at 750–1,500 lb and 5×5 and 5×6 at 1,000–1,500 lb; small squares 45–70 lb, against 35–40 lb from Cornell Cooperative Extension

None of them is wrong. A tight bale can weigh nearly 30% more than a loose one of the same size (Texas A&M's 5×5: 935 versus 1,210 lb), and a bale baled wet weighs more and feeds less. Penn State's advice is blunt: many producers badly overestimate what their round bales weigh and run short in late winter.

Weigh three bales on a truck scale or with a bale scale, use the average, and divide 2,000 by it. If the seller sells by the ton, you never need the count.

What changes your number

Density. The baler's settings, the crop and how it was rolled. Texas A&M's 5×5 round is 935 lb at the loose end of its density range and 1,210 at the tight end — a swing of nearly 30% for the same bale size.
Moisture. Hay baled wet weighs more per bale and feeds less. Grass hay is 90–93% dry matter (WVU), so a ton of it carries about 140–200 lb of water (our arithmetic).
Nominal size. Bale sizes get quoted loosely. Penn State's own worked example is labeled a 4×5 bale and calculated as 4 ft wide by 4 ft across.
Small-square weight. Cornell Cooperative Extension says 35–40 lb is typical; Purdue lists 45–70 lb for a 14×18×35-inch bale. The two sources disagree by a third or more — weigh a few from your seller.
Buying by the bale or by the ton. By weight, the price is the price. By the bale, divide by the weight first: a $6 small square is $300 a ton at 40 lb and $200 a ton at 60 lb.

A number we won't give you

One weight that fits every farm. Extension sources disagree by a factor of two on the same bale size, none separates two-string from three-string small squares, and none measures how much a bale gains from rain or loses to drying. The presets in the calculator are starting values from the ranges on this page; the number to trust is the one on a scale.

Bales in a ton, by bale size

Bale	Typical weight	Bales per ton	Source
Small square, 14×18×35 in	35–70 lb	29–57 (40 at 50 lb)	Cornell Cooperative Extension, Purdue
Medium square, 16×22×44 in	100–140 lb	14–20	Purdue
Large square, 3×3×8 ft	800–1,000 lb	2.0–2.5	Purdue
Round 4×4 ft	400–600 lb	3.3–5.0	WVU
Round 4×5 ft	700–1,000 lb	2.0–2.9	WVU
Round 5×5 ft	about 1,100 lb	1.8	Texas A&M (reference bale)
Round 5×6 ft	1,200–1,700 lb	1.2–1.7	WVU

Bales per ton is 2,000 divided by each end of the weight range. The weights are the sources' ranges; yours can fall outside them.

The same bale price, different prices per ton

Bale	Weight	Price per bale	Price per ton
Small square	40 lb	$6	$300
Small square	60 lb	$6	$200
Round 4×5 (Texas A&M's estimate)	880 lb	$45	$102.27
Round 5×5 (Texas A&M's reference)	1,100 lb	$45	$81.82

The $45 and the two per-ton figures are Texas A&M's worked example; the $6 small square is ours to show the arithmetic, not a market price.

Run your own numbers

Pick a bale type, replace the starting weight with what yours weighs on a scale, and add a price per bale to see the price per ton.

Your bale

Bale typeTypical: 35–70 lb (Cornell, Purdue)What one bale weighs (lb)Weigh three. This is the number that matters.Price per bale ($, optional)How many bales

Bales in a ton

40 per ton

20 bales weigh: 0.5 tons

What a bale costs per ton

Price per ton = price per bale × bales per ton. The same $6 small square is $300 a ton at 40 lb and $200 a ton at 60 lb; Texas A&M's $45 round is $102.27 a ton at 880 lb and $81.82 at 1,100. Before you compare a bale price to a ton price, weigh the bale.

Then stop planning from averages

The calculator turns a bale into a ton. In Homestead Paradise you log the bales you actually buy and the animals you actually have: each pen shows feed cost per head per day, each item of feed shows the day it runs out, and the budget page shows whether winter is running over what you planned. 14-day free trial, no card.

Start your 14-day trial — no card

Keep planning

How much hay do goats need for winter?How much hay do sheep need for winter?How much hay does a cow need for winter?How many bales of hay do I need for winter?What does it cost to feed livestock through winter, per head?How much water do livestock drink in winter?

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from a land-grant university extension service, a government agriculture or energy agency, or a breed registry — never from another blog.