The 'interesting' part of selling hay is the customer.

**triguy46** · 08-12-2009 09:35 PM

I thought learning the hay business was about equipment, agriculture, weather. That stuff is easy compared to dealing with some very odd people who buy hay. Having bought hay myself, and having friends who buy hay, I'm don't want to disparage all customers. I just want to disparage the ones who want to buy my hay.

Another way to put this is, "Don't advertise on Craigslist."

**Heyhay..eh** · 08-12-2009 10:23 PM

How true

The 10 acre people with a few horses, a goat and a donkey take the cake! By the time they get through establishing what can't be in the hay, the conditions under which it had to be baled and how far away from a dusty roadway it had to be made or stored ... well they are S.O.L here. Then they like to come and get it every week, just after supper ... or when you are knee deep in some project ... "can I trouble you for a few bales" Sad part, in the end it all adds up and I sell a lot of squares that way. A hay 7-11 why not!

Take care

**kfarm_EC_IL** · 08-13-2009 05:52 AM

I told a lady last year after she got done telling me what kind of hay she wanted and then how much she would pay that maybe she should just shot the horse and we would both be happy.

Mark

**Production Acres** · 08-13-2009 06:47 AM

We advertise ocassionly on craigs list, but only the selection of hay we offer and our phone #. The ads that say premium hay square bales baling in the field today for $2/bale. You know good and well how many bottom feeders you will get, how much trouble you will have, how much weeds is in the hay, how many bounced checks you will get, how many complaints you will get. We sell a lot of cheap hay - hay that has been culled from our better loads, but we really don't advertise that fact. It is very hard to build a good clientel, but we really try to aviod advertising cheap hay and that has eliminated a lot problems.

**swmnhay** · 08-13-2009 08:00 AM

The best one I've had is.Can you bring me 1 Rd bale and skid loader and put bale in feeder for me.

**ButchAutomatic** · 08-13-2009 08:13 AM

To me that is a service, a service I can charge very dearly for.

**swmnhay** · 08-13-2009 08:23 AM

I do deliver 5 rd bales and bring skid loader along on trailer to a few people.As a service that they pay me well for

Don't mind doing it but hate it when they don't give me a couple days notice.

**nwfarmer** · 08-13-2009 11:29 AM

7-11 hay sales is great. My best customer buys 10 bales every ten days. I do hustle for customers that only bring cash. LOL

**bunchgrass1** · 08-13-2009 01:04 PM

How do you handle the loading issue? Customer loads or you load? I'm talking sm squares. It seems to be no win in my opinion. If I load then I'm doing extra work for no more cash (should charge or increase hay price). If they load, stack gets all torn to hell, broken bales left and right .... Those of you who have customers coming every 10 days or so are providing free storage unless you factor that into your overall price.

You're right that the "bottom feeders" will swarm out and be the most discerning customers about the hay vs price. We see many that think hay should cost the same as it did in 1940 or something. Wake up folks.

With regard to all the restrictions on dusty roads, weeds, baling conditions etc - that crap is coming from the "how to" publications - in this case how to choose good hay. Written as pie in the sky unrealistic stuff by people who have never put up a bale of hay.

**okhillbilly** · 08-13-2009 02:40 PM

(Bunchgrass1) Most of the time I help load out of the barn. Because of the reasons you mention (torn up bales mainly). Mostly get hay off the stack to the floor, they load however they wish. It's funny sometimes to watch because alot of people can't stack to save thier life. Sometimes I just watch if they have an attitude and let them do all the work when it's lower in the barn.

In the field they can load it. That's why they get a .25 cent price break. They fell like its a good deal to walk all over and do all the heavy lifting. I'm usually busy baling anyway.

I had a lady call about some goat hay. "You all know the weedy stuff". The minute she got thier she was complaining about something or someone else's hay. I can't remember what now. Anyway the hay I had was not good enough for her goats and she wanted the premiam horse hay instead. Complaned the whole time about the horse hay about lenth and wieght and color and price you name it. Needless to say when she calls I'm sold out.