Horse Hay

[Anonymous-0]

I,ve been reading these forums for a long time now,everybody has different experiences and so on.But one thing i don't understand,if so many farmers which i am,don't like selling to horse people,don't sell it to them,or just plow your fields up. Its nice to have that cash around during the summer months when all the grain is sold.We,re not all perfect ourselves. I guess when i buy something i always want the best price,so do the horse people sometimes the real bitchy ones even tip, because by the end of the day they realize how much work it is....
Stacking small squares in thire 8 ft barns..

 

[Luke S]

Thats kind of what I was thinking. I deal with about 4 or 5 different horse people and have never had any problems. But then I don't bale hay if it is too green, and if it gets rained on I put it in rounds and feed it to my own horses and cows. My mother is in the boarding business and feeds about 5-6,000 bales a year and recently I took her a load of orchard grass/clover mix and she thought it was some of the best stuff she had seen. I sold 3/4 of the load to her for $3.50 a bale the rest to another lasy she knew who was there at the time for $5.00 a bale. Mom showed me 200 bales of alfalfa another guy had just delivered when she wasn't there and they were so dam heavy and hot it was rediculous. If you shook em a little the mold dust would just pour out. This guy charged mom $4.00 a bale for that junk. I told her to get those dam things out of there before her barn caught on fire. I guess what I am saying is, I understand there are some real dumb and jerky horse people out there, but there are also some real dumb and jerky farmers out there. I guess since I am both(a horse person and a farmer) I can understand that.

 

[Larry NE IL]

Amen to that!

 

[MH]

I think that it just depends on the person (horse or not) & their attitude. Some are fine, some are not. I have met all kinds just like any other trade or hobby.
Matthew

 

[a4t1rat]

We grow horse hay and that is all we sell. we have alfalfa and half alfalfe, grass mix. we try for only the best quality, no rain, mold, dust. we sell it for $6.00 a bale and we sell all that we can grow. we have a policy if you get a bad bale bring it back and we will give you another one no problem for what ever reason. we have a list and people get on our list and we have no complaints and they treat us well also. all I can say is money is money and they all pay in cash !

 

[Anonymous-0]

Wait a minute. "when I buy something I always want the best price" Well for me it isn't the best price but the fairest price. If you always try to barter someone down to the lowest price to the point where they don't make any money then you get a reputation for being that kind of a person. Finally no one wants to do buisiness with you. Or those that do will try to take advantage of you to teach you a lesson.(deliver you moldy hay when you are not there) Buyer and seller need to treat each other with respect. Buyer has right to get what he pays for and seller has right to get paid a fair price for his product.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I also have been reading these posts with some amusement. You are selling a specialty product at a higher than normal price. Of course the buyer wants what HE or SHE believes is the best. Very little of the hay sold to receational horse people in Canada ever gets mentioned to the Revenue Dept. I imagine you people in the US are more loyal than we are, though.

 

[alg]

Luke,you hit the nail on the head.I was buying hay from a local farmer for years,no problems.Then i bought a load and it was rained on and molding,my horses would not eat it,even my goats would not touch it.Went back to the farmer and he said there was nothing wrong with it.So it was time to look for another hay farmer.Why screw someone you have been dealing with for years.??Greed!!!!

 

[Anonymous-0]

I bale about 1500 bales per year and sell all of it to horse people. There is a good market in our area with a lot of people owning horses and no place to grow hay. Never had a problem. They vary a lot in what they want but they all want one thing - dry hay with no dust. Its pretty easy to raise timothy and sell for horse hay. I simply tell them the price (my price is usually a little cheaper than most) and either they take it or move on. I've had mostly the same customers for years so must be doing something right with them. My idea is if I won't feed it to my animals then I won't sell it to someone elses animals either and I don't feed my animals junk.

 

[David in MD]

I grow and sell hay and most of my customers are horse owners. To own a horse is a luxury and horse owners are willing to spend good money to feed their luxury. In contrast, a beef or dairy farmer is in business to make money and can only spend so much on hay. I price my hay depending on quality. When asked I"ll tell the good or bad about each cutting. Some customers are quality buyers and some are price buyers. If it isn"t horse hay i won"t sell it as horse hay. Many times standards are relaxed later in the season as good hay becomes scarce and prices go up. From the beginning I"ve had a satisfaction guarantee and will offer a replacement or refund if unsatisfied. The key here is that I don"t offer delivery so it has to be bad enough for the customer to make the effort to bring it back to me. It also helps that the customer comes to my farm, sees what I have, what the price is, and can decide if they want it before I touch the first bale. I"d hate to deliver a load and have the customer say that wasn"t what they wanted or want to haggle on price. As a side note, most of my customer"s horses are old horses that have out lived a childs interest or a racing career. My three year old daughter loves horses and wants one in the worst way. When she gets old enough to help care for it I"m sure we"ll have to get her one. My biggest fear is she"ll grow up, go off to college, move out, get married and I"ll be stuck caring for an old horse. With an average lifespan of 10 years dogs are great and outdoor cats who seem to last only 3 years are even better. Now with a horse you"re making a 30-40 year commitment.

 

[Anonymous-0]

you are dealing with the public and ther is always the ones who b't'h. and ones who want quality product for cheap price. You can have both in my setup you want quality you pay for it you want cheap you can have that too bottom bales and rained on. I am usually always sold out and 90% of the buyers are women. It is either yes or now with them most of the time which is fine with me. none of this dealing stuff

 

[Joe(TX)]

MH has it right. I sell to mostly horse people. Some are knowledgable and some only repeat what others have said and have no clue. I never lie about what I am selling and always give a fair price, usually lower than my neighbors. If they don't like what I have, I let the buy elswhere. There are a few I have invited to buy elswhere. I had one last year that would not pay my price, but came back later when I had already sold out at a higher price.
I went into the hay business because of problems I had in buying hay for my own horses. I have found out I was not as a retentive (am not allowed to used the first word) as most horse owner though.

 

[Walt Davies]

I live in Oregon and as you know it rains here all the time. We do our best to get hay in between storms but its not a perfect science and you darn sure can't trust the local weather people. so i go to the national weather to get the best advice but that's not perfect either.
Sometime it get rained on. Contrary to popular belief rain doesn't cause mold putting it up wet does. We turn it a few times till its dry and then bale it. We check with our probe it more accurate than feeling with your hands, it will tell the moisture and the temperature of the bale. I had one the other day in the barn that was 35% in the middle and 14 on the ends. the temp was 2 deg. lower than ambient temp. Just because they are wet doesn't mean that they will burn your barn down they have to real wet and have no air circulating around them. Barns need to be vented and all the new ones I see are not. Mine is like a sieve so the air freely flows around the hay.
the trouble I have is trying to please everyone who has a different idea of what perfect hay is. We bale to our specs and if the buyer wants that OK but if not go down the road we just don't have the time to please everyone with special request as to how they want the hay baled.
We make 50 and 60 lb bales if you want 40 or 30 then go down the road i won't make a sloppy bale just to cut the weight down. Then they complain that the bales are falling apart. I have 3 balers and 2 are set at 50 the bigger one is set at 60 lb. I say take it or leave it I have more buyers than bales right now.
And if you want all the weeds out then sort it yourself I can't spray enough stuff to get rid of them all and I won't cut around them. Even at todays higher prices by the time buy parts replace and repair things and buy $3 gas or diesel pay $10 for lousy help you are lucky to make anything in the hay business. We do it because we have cows of own and we want to cut our cost of feeding them, sometimes I think I'm doing it all wrong.
Sorry to carry on so but this is just the way it is out here in wet Oregon. We have 3 maybe 4 days right now to get some in before the next rain.

Walt

 

[Anonymous-0]

I find that a good product is easy to sell.Chislers rarely buy any thing, just waste your time.I build a few picnic tables in May and June.Most buyers take a few minutes looking over the table and say lets load it.I send chislers down the road to a fellow who builds tippy tables for more money.