First of all thanks for this feedback. I am going to go to the racetrack next week and walk around and see what is being used. I might take 50 bales of what we have left and see what the buyers have to say. I realize that this might not be indicative of future sales since there is very little hay available right now. Even if enough buyers want 1 or 2 bales of Alfalfa we might sell them all. I never thought about selling straw and while we don't bale straw, I do know a guy that has a bunch that we could be a middle man for. I have not heard of a hay broker at the track but will check on that too.
I have two buyers that have brood mares for Standardbreds. Those two buyers demanded pure alfalfa. I don't know if they are mixing hay together like you are. I need to ask. I know they are providing some grain although I thought they were limiting the grain on the mares during the last trimester and feeding higher quality hay to keep them in good condition. Because these buyers bought about 700 bales of alfalfa last year, and paid much more than grass hay, I thought Alfalfa was the place to be and I had hit on a good sales formula. Now I am not sure, but I have 26 acres of new stand pure alfalfa to sell this year, if I can get it all baled without weather screwing it up. Those fields should be good for another 3 years.
It seems like when I sell grass hay, it always gets discounted well below Alfalfa. It costs the same amount of money for diesel fuel, seed, maintenance and labor to do grass hay versus alfalfa, so I gravitated to more alfalfa. I made more off of 3rd and 4th cutting of Alfalfa last year than I did all on other hay cuttings that were sold. I do believe that the Orchard Grass gives excellent palatability when mixed with Alfalfa so I like that mix. I have fed both types of bales to sheep which are very picky, and they will gravitate to the partial OG bales first. I had one buyer tell me that my mixed hay was too expensive and my pure Afalfa was too cheap!? If I planted pure Orchard Grass, I am not sure who would buy it, but I will ask around at the track. I am faced with replanting about 20 acres this year or next and I don't want to plant anymore pure Alfalfa if I have no buyers.
Funny thing about this thread is that I originally asked if anyone could confirm my findings in the hay tests that I took last year and no real comments on it other than it is just one of many tools to use. I did the TDN equine test thinking that it would prove the quality of my hay to skeptical buyers. I am pretty sure if I sent in pure grass hay samples they are going to have very low RFV and RFQ values. However, if the hay is being used just to keep the rumen safe then the hay test doesn't matter. I have a feeling the amish with work horses and transportation horses might be a better buyer for my high RFV and RFQ quality hay. They wouldn't be feeding anymore grain than is necessary and would welcome high quality hay. The one hay producer that I know that lives about 2 hours from Amish country says he is selling 5,000 bales to them per year and it is mostly alfalfa at $8+ per bale so that would appear to be more profitable than row crops.
My current thoughts on marketing strategy for pure or mostly Alfalfa small squares has now morphed into a multi-pronged approach. Buyers would include current brood mare horse buyers delivered to their farm, showing up at the horse track once a week and amish country when I want to move larger amounts. Don't know any amish right now, but there are three big amish hay markets 2 hours away from me. If I can transport 200-300 bales at a time then it would be worth it. Of course, I will also be doing round bales for myself and other buyers on some first cutting fields.
I am still going to do my testing this year, even though most buyers may not care. I may have divulged too much about my strategy but not sure there are very many competitors on this forum and I have to believe many high volume hay producers have wrestled with this same problem. So greatly appreciate any further feedback. I think I need to take advantage of being 25 minutes from a horse track. One of the primary hay producers at the track has gotten out of hay due to medical issues so there is an opening for someone new. I gave up on row crops 3 years ago for many reasons and it has put me in this position to have to find a market for the hay. Each year since then I think I am not going to sell what hay we produced and each yearweI have. Given the input costs for row crops this year and other unknowns, I think it was a better strategy to move to all hay on the acres that I own. Of course, if the economy really goes south then horse counts will go down, but the current buyers seem to be well funded.
Like Mike Tyson says: Everyone has a game plan until they get hit in the mouth.
We are a few weeks from getting this hay baling season going and while I still have some operational issues to solve, I am in a better position than ever before. I can't wait to get some hay down!
