hay bale tire-kickers rant

jason, NW Ontario · Sep 17, 2011

First-cut hay, cut Thursday and baled today. I promised the owner I'd cut the field some time this year. I just wanted it gone. I took almost 300 for our horses and sheep, but the barn is full now. Posted an ad for $1 per bale off the field. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out this hay is well past its prime, thus the $1 price tag.
I couldn't believe how many people wanted to know what types of grass, can I help load them, give me a call and we can discuss, and on...
And here I thought this was a no-brainer and a quick way to clean off the field. Of all the interested people that contacted me, NOBODY showed up today. I still have 250+ bales out there with rain coming tomorrow afternoon.
I would truck another load across town to my grandparents' place, but the truck died 2 nights back and needs a tow for diagnostics.
Sorry for blabbing on about this but it's so frustrating dealing with people sometimes.

Jay

Casey in Ky · Sep 17, 2011

I'm right there with ya. I'm strickly in the hay business, no animals to feed or anything, and customers seem to get worse every cutting. I'm just about to quit.

D-C-741 · Sep 17, 2011

Raze The Price To 4- 5 a Bale/Will Take offers on Amounts over 10 Bales/ I bet it will be gone real Quick ! it's been done before an it Realy Works .

da bees · Sep 18, 2011

To bad it isn't in Texas. Cows are about tired of beans for breakfast,beans for lunch and more mesquite beans for dinner.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 18, 2011

(quoted from post at 21:18:12 09/17/11) Raze The Price To 4- 5 a Bale/Will Take offers on Amounts over 10 Bales/ I bet it will be gone real Quick ! it's been done before an it Realy Works .

Weeds out the cheapskates right off the bat................

jason, NW Ontario · Sep 18, 2011

If this situation ever comes up again, that is a social experiment definitely worth trying. Thanks

D-C-741 · Sep 18, 2011

A friend Has done it with Tractor's & equipment /tryed a low price for a quick sale,didn't work so razed the price a week later and could have sold several of them ????

torwood9 · Sep 18, 2011

I tried to get rid of hay right off the field too this year. Worked once for a dairy farmer that needed high quality hay. For my grassy hay it seems like it never works. I get the feeling for the horse people in my area (Central WI), they don"t have much if any storage space for hay. When the snow flies is when they come calling. Which is fine, just wish I wouldn"t have to put it in the barn.

Mike (WA) · Sep 18, 2011

Asking 4 or 5 bucks a bale for mid-September first cutting should get rid of the tire kickers- and everyone else, I think. I suspect the calls were just to see if it could possibly be anything other than straw, at this point. Did you mention it was first cutting in your ad?

Did have some fun giving away about 200 bales one time. Pretty mediocre hay, a few bales had mold (but certainly OK for cattle). I just wanted it out of the barn to make room for next year, without doing it all myself.

Had several responses, I told them to show up at the same time, and I put them in order of their calls. Told them they had to take it all as it came off the stack. Sure enough, the first hard-bitten old heifer started laying a few bales aside. I told her if she was going to cherry-pick, she was done, and I'd move the next guy in. She protested and grumbled, but took them as they came. Got rid of it all without much trouble.

Billy Shafer · Sep 18, 2011

Just raise your price it will be gone. I used to work in the super market world. Things we couldn't sell at say 15 cents a can. Would fly out the door if you said four for a dollar. Also send your hay to Texas. We will take anything we can get.

GordoSD · Sep 18, 2011

Just the opposite here. I have some of the best hay in the county and my customers know it. I've increased my buyers 400% over the past 8 years, and increased prices 6 times. Also increased the hay acres, and increased the apps of NPK quite a bit.
Net profit per acre has gone up 250% in 8 years.

bill mart · Sep 18, 2011

when you cut a field that late in the season is there any new growth growing with the dry old growth? Bill M.

Traditional Farmer · Sep 18, 2011

Call it Timoity Hay and ask $6 a bale the horse folks will be lined up to get it.

jason, NW Ontario · Sep 18, 2011

Around here this summer there was a beautiful combo of heat + rain, and the hay crop was plentiful. Don't think I could offer even $2. The guy that picked up the bulk of it today agreed (only after it was all loaded and paid for) that $1.50 was also reasonable.

RodinNS · Sep 18, 2011

Should have asked 4 bucks a bale and they'd be glad to get such good stuff...
Really... if it's dry and somewhat green it's as good as more for the horsey crowd. Let them beat ya down to 3 bucks and everyone is happy.
For a buck a bale I wouldn't bale it. That doesn't cover the cost. Cut it and leave it.
Even construction hay sells for a lot more than that here.

Rod

RodinNS · Sep 18, 2011

Generally it will be mostly new growth at this point unless it's a pure stand of timothy (and a heavy crop). Anything that's more or less reverted to it's native state will have some fairly lush growth right now that actually makes pretty good horse hay.

Rod

hay bale tire-kickers rant

jason, NW Ontario

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Casey in Ky

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D-C-741

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da bees

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Anonymous-0

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jason, NW Ontario

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D-C-741

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torwood9

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Mike (WA)

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Billy Shafer

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GordoSD

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