Hay as a Profitable Endeavor

[john in la]

You guys think baling small square hay is bad you should try pine straw.

 

[joeysmith]

I'm gonna step on some toes. I WILL NOT WILLINGLY FEED MY ANIMALS SPRAYED HAY. The simply don't eat it with the same vigor. 2-4-D messes up the palatability. PERIOD. Don't tell me otherwise.

I have some serious broadleaf, stemmy weeds, in my hay. Doggone cows don't know the difference when it's in the bale. Put it up right, before the weeds head..............and you got hay. They eat it.

Gonna spray next year. Don't want to, but I gotta do it. I expect problems when feeding.

I dont know where you are at but here in s central ks if waited out till the rite year with good moisture an weather spraying towards fall after the hay has been put up will get a lot of those weeds an the spray carryover to next years crop seems to be negligible

Reminds me i need to get the sprayer hooked uo

 

[ss55]

I can see how you could make a profit with customers like you described. That is not the case here. Like I said, most of the horse people around here are broke.

Got a kick out of Farmersamm's post above. It describes the kind of horse people I saw more often than not, "You get some moron with a 20 gallon hat, mustache as wide as the grille on his pickup................."

Hay markets are local markets. Think of those three most important things in real estate: location, location, location!

 

[showcrop]

So.... have we figured out a profitable path paved in idiot cubes yet?

One of youse has to be making the millions on those things!!

Mike

Just read this thread.

 

[tom upton]

I dont know where you are at but here in s central ks if waited out till the rite year with good moisture an weather spraying towards fall after the hay has been put up will get a lot of those weeds an the spray carryover to next years crop seems to be negligible

Reminds me i need to get the sprayer hooked uo

What kind of spray are you using that wont kill the alfalfa?

 

[joeysmith]

What kind of spray are you using that wont kill the alfalfa?

Didn't see thats what hes spraying.

Should of splurged for the roundup ready stuff

 

[Loosehandle]

Same here in South Jersey.

A small square goes for about $6 or $7. Those miniature squares, maybe a 1/4 of a small square, sells at the same price this time of year.

Are the 1/4 bales straw?

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

Just read this thread.

Been following it.

Mike

 

[Texasmark]

Same here in South Jersey.

A small square goes for about $6 or $7. Those miniature squares, maybe a 1/4 of a small square, sells at the same price this time of year.

I saw some of the tiny squares in a farm store awhile back. The thing that got my attention is the size and the price....I think I recall $24.....set my mind to wondering, what heck is in that bundle to warrant that kind of a price?

 

[Jim Hanson]

I saw some of the tiny squares in a farm store awhile back. The thing that got my attention is the size and the price....I think I recall $24.....set my mind to wondering, what heck is in that bundle to warrant that kind of a price?

 

[showcrop]

A friend in a neighboring town sells mulch hay like hotcakes by the roadside this time of year for $14.00 a full sized bale. He puts it out with corn stalks and pumpkins. Most people in that town have even more money than most in my town.

 

[farmersamm]

I dont know where you are at but here in s central ks if waited out till the rite year with good moisture an weather spraying towards fall after the hay has been put up will get a lot of those weeds an the spray carryover to next years crop seems to be negligible

Reminds me i need to get the sprayer hooked uo

I've been thinking about that. I'm seeing broadleaf, and some minor Blackberry, crap today when moving hay off the field. We're in a drought, but expect rain next week. It's a Johnson Grass stand, so I figure 2-4-D ought to work to some extent(not so much on the woody plants), without damaging the Johnson Grass. IF I CAN GET THE DAM SPRAYER RUNNING REAL FAST. It's been sitting for years.

BTW////////////////////// we're in Oklahoma

 

[Texasmark]

I've been thinking about that. I'm seeing broadleaf, and some minor Blackberry, crap today when moving hay off the field. We're in a drought, but expect rain next week. It's a Johnson Grass stand, so I figure 2-4-D ought to work to some extent(not so much on the woody plants), without damaging the Johnson Grass. IF I CAN GET THE DAM SPRAYER RUNNING REAL FAST. It's been sitting for years.

BTW////////////////////// we're in Oklahoma

Well I'm South of you and my weather report seems to let me have your leftovers....some said to expect heavy rain. I have cracks in my clay that you can get your foot caught in. With the ground opened up like that the "heavy rain" if it materializes, will be there for next years summer crop of sorghum-sudan.....the only good thing about clay soil.

 

[sotxbill]

My hay selling rules:
Rule number one, do not even consider selling hay to horse people. Almost all of them are broke and they want the best hay at the lowest price.
Rule number two, do not even consider selling hay to a hay jockey. They lose money on every load and try to make it up on volume.
Rule number three, set you price for a profit. if they call and want you to lower your price, hang up.
Rule number four, most years you can buy hay cheaper than you can put it up. At least around here.

Trouble is... when it rains, you have hay, and so does everyone else. AND they cut every trash field and sell it as premium hay. Its a dog eat dog market and always will be. The only way to make a little money in the hay business is to start out with a lot of money and work down from there.

 

[Ray,IN]

I've been thinking about that. I'm seeing broadleaf, and some minor Blackberry, crap today when moving hay off the field. We're in a drought, but expect rain next week. It's a Johnson Grass stand, so I figure 2-4-D ought to work to some extent(not so much on the woody plants), without damaging the Johnson Grass. IF I CAN GET THE DAM SPRAYER RUNNING REAL FAST. It's been sitting for years.

BTW////////////////////// we're in Oklahoma

Johnson grass is the bane of row croppers, but it makes good hay and cattle pasture. In my area the county and state rights of way are sprayed to eliminate Johnson grass- and ditch lilies.

 

[m16ty]

I sell square hay to “horse people” because that is the biggest market for squares around here, they can be aggravating though.
Had one lady come by and picked up 20 bales and would buy more if her horses liked it. It’s good hay, orchard grass with some fescue and clover. She called me back and said her horses wouldn’t touch it. After talking to her I found out she had been previously feeding them alfalfa hay. I asked her why she stopped and she said it was too expensive. I told her that they will have to get hungry before they eat my hay if coming off of alfalfa, but they would eat it when they got hungry enough. She still wasn’t satisfied.

 

[m16ty]

Johnson grass is the bane of row croppers, but it makes good hay and cattle pasture. In my area the county and state rights of way are sprayed to eliminate Johnson grass- and ditch lilies.

Got to watch Johnson grass if it gets dry. Nitrates can get high which can poison cattle, goats, and sheep. Strangely enough, high nitrates doesn’t bother horses.

 

[Ray,IN]

Got to watch Johnson grass if it gets dry. Nitrates can get high which can poison cattle, goats, and sheep. Strangely enough, high nitrates doesn’t bother horses.

Humm, only ruminants, did not know that..

 

[deere4040]

We make hay as a pretend profitable endeavor and you can see how it runs here.

D

Thread 'The Farm. Haying and Cattle Thread'

Jun 1, 2026

Thought I would start a thread about what we do here. Will be mostly pictures from past and present. Been selling hay off from 200 acres acres for over 10 years now at this scale. Have a herd of Dexters, Jerseys, and Dexter/Jersey crosses for beef sales. current herd is 40+. Also help my cousin from time to time on his 1400 cow dairy in 2 states and work Preload at UPS.


Yesterday knocked down our rye for precut rye straw. Takes a week plus before it is ready and we do want it to get a little rain but not to much. First batch of 1st cutting off on May 30. Can't remember when we have done...

• deere4040
• Replies: 115
• Forum: Tractor & Farm Talk

• 

Just got done with 40 acres yesterday of small squares and rounds. This year we are giving out letters completely revamping our pricing system. We sell out of field, prebuy and stored, and winter sales if surplus. Dry hay over 180 acres with including baleage ground we are about 240 acres. Up to 4 cuttings a year with 90% of our sales directly out of the field. You have to have a highly reliable customer base and it is nothing to sell 1500 small squares out of the field across 5-10 different customers in a day. Our best day yet in the decade plus of doing it at this scale was just over 2500 bales in one day with taking 4 back to the barn. That's how clow we were running the yield. All numbers are preplanned the days before on what people are getting. Not show up and add or reduce their order size the day they picked up. In fact I talk to zero customers and do not have time. We do not take any money at the field. Some customers may leave it in a vehicle, mail payment, but lots of them will drive to the farm and deposit it in our payment box at our self serve stall where we also sell hay and straw for the customers that do not need 100's of bales. You would be surprised how many people want just 1,2,5 bales. Customers that would be annoying to deal with. We move close to 100 bales each of straw and first cutting out of the self serve a month.

Biggest thing to weed out the crap customers is

We do not delivery and we do not load.

 

[Texasmark]

Johnson grass is the bane of row croppers, but it makes good hay and cattle pasture. In my area the county and state rights of way are sprayed to eliminate Johnson grass- and ditch lilies.

Several people around here mow the highway right-of-ways. I used to be against that but with today's clean fuels I could consider it and feeding it to my animals...if I still had any.