Video discussing the hardest part of starting a hay farm. We are a small family farm in the western mountains of Virginia. Subscribe for more farming videos - Thanks for watching!
I recently retired and would like to start a small farm. My grandfather lost his 600 acre farm. Had to auction everything off. As a kid I loved driving the tractors.
Hello your persistence looks like its paying off though it's your job that keeps you going. I agree finding the good buyer who knows the ins and outs of hay making is the best buyer. I'm not selling less than 40 bales to anyone. When I was a kid we made hay and last fall I started a dream again to produce and i surprised myself that I have good knowledge. Watching your videos has helped. Thankyou. To me there is way to many round and big squares. I produced a good quality small square hay bale this year inspite of poor weather conditions. Great video great comments have a good day.
Just seeing your video now. However, very good and spot on. My experience has been similar and the advice I'd give is don't sell junk. Till up your hay fields, plant a good product that's in demand, I grow Orchard Grass hay for horses. Buy a new or modern baler that puts out nice, solid, tight bales. You are selling and customers all have horror stories of prior purchases. So put a quality hay product in a quality bale and your entry in the business will go easier, smoother. And yes, take care of your repeat customers, if you're in it for the long haul. Again, don't scrimp on balers, do that with the tractor, they stay together better than old balers, but think of it like this - a newer baler is like a high end color laser printer, the output is nicer than a crappy printer and most computers (the tractor) can make a document to send to your printer (the baler). Lousy printer, bad output, lousy baler, bad output! Bad products much harder to sell, good products are just easier to sell.
I know what you mean in regards to having other people farm your fields. I did that for several years and all they did was take the hay off but never put anything back. I now have a friend of mine making hay here and he puts both time and money into the fields. It's a real blessing for sure.
To me I have so many customers that i can't fulfill the demand of the market. This is happening because nobody wants to make small square bales, all bigger farms make round bales. So in my area I have virtually no competition and very high demand. Usually my hay is either sold by the time I make it or sold within around 2-3 months. For me, my hardest part is buying the equipment, because I'm not willing to take a loan from bank and also I don't have extra money. But another reason I started making hay is because of low quality hay that others make around my area. I want to provide good quality hay to my customers.
Lots of good information! It took several years for me to get the good loyal customer base. Dealing with people can be the hardest part of selling hay so finding good dependable customers is very important!
I loved hearing your thoughts and experiences! Coming from people who are making hay, but want to take the business further, this was awesome to hear. Thank you for sharing!
The quickest way to make a small fortune selling hay is to start with a large fortune, all kidding aside it's a constant race against mother nature, having options such as wet wrapping or chopping for silage is helpful, but it can be done, after 22 years at it seems there's always a curve ball on the way.
sell the crap hay to construction workers. they are always looking for woody hay squares for sites and water runoff. the feed grade hay is not as good for construction for it will mold and rott out faster.
I’m trying to do the same thing in Northern California. Will be first generation taking my stab at it as a side hustle if all goes well. Your videos are nice insight thank you!
This is my first year of making hay. I have 4 acres, bought used equipment, have ~ $10K invested in just the hay equipment, moco, rake, tedder, baler, and also bought a No Till and a new tractor to handle it all. The tractor is for more than just hay though. The first time I was out cutting, a neighbor stopped by and asked if I would be interested in cutting another neighbors hay, so now I have 8 acres of hay. My field needs a lot of work, his is established, but needs some food and lime too. So far I sold all but my first cutting which got sun bleached thanks to a bad weather forecast. I now have two repeat customers. For me the hardest part is getting lime and fertilizer as well as off road diesel. The local COOP wants nothing to do with me because I am too small to bother with.
I would like to see you open those fields up by grubbing out All that creep you have on the edge of your fields should gain 5+ acre's but you are on site. So you can get a better grasp of the situation. Maybe a winter time job.
Why not feed your marginal hay to stocker cattle.. Buy 3-4 calves and keep them full of hay all winter. Graze them a month on green grass and get that compensatory gain, then sell them(or send them to freezer camp) just in time to start working on hay..
I pay more for excellent quality hay. I’m in Nova Scotia Canada and I know horse people that actually buy hay from Ontario and New Brunswick. I don’t like to pay for something that is not of good quality.
As a marketing idea id be using the "Moutain Grown Hay" as a selling point. Is it different? Who knows. But water up in mountainous areas has to be cleaner then the water down below.
I know this video is older but if you are still reading comments . Do you think trying to find people to deliver hey for before starting your own hey farm would help fi d customers ?
@@HumbleHaymakers Subsequently how much land is needed to grow hay and you ever think of networking with other hay growers or farms to grow your business....
Hello. Great video. This is a loaded question. Sorry. Other farmers please chime in. I’m an OO trucker. I would like to have this a side business/hobby. If I break even with land taxes and maybe some newer equipment down the road I’d be happy. I would be able to offer hay for sale and be able to truck it as well. Do you all see this as a good combo? Experience mowing several hundred acre parks for 11 years. Never grew or baled hay. Early 40’s still able to work long days.
I am just establishing my farm. I can't get people to deliver hay. They will advertise hay for sale on Marketplace and when I ask them, How much to deliver to my address, they say, "Let me check" and they never get back. I will have a 1-ton next year to pull a good gooseneck trailer, but for now, my truck can't handle a full load of hay.
Never hurts to try something. If you are new to haying, perhaps offer to help a neighbor to get some experience. A key in farming is timing. That is, when hay is ready to cut, it can't wait till you return home from out on the road. New folks focus on mowing and baling, but one must plant and fertilize the hay to have something worth baling to sell. This is where it's helpful to work with your neighbors to learn. For me, delivering hay was a complete no win propasition. At the time, I worked a job all week, would sell hay on Saturday. If you hire help you won't make any money, so I'd do it myself. Load 200 - 250 bales on the truck alone, strap it down, drive 30 miles, unload, by myself into difficult to reach storage locations (hay lofts are the worse). Kills the entire Saturday on a single delivery. And buyers hate to pay for delivery, basically earning gas money. Hay is very difficult to load and haul, just the nature of this product, why buyers want delivery and why hay sellers won't deliver.
Finding buyer is no problem for me with a little advertising and word of mouth. I place an ad on Facebook Marketplace and spend $10 to boost it and poof my hay is gone.
I recently retired and would like to start a small farm. My grandfather lost his 600 acre farm. Had to auction everything off. As a kid I loved driving the tractors.
Sorry to hear that. Good luck getting started! - Everett
What city state ?
It is a constant delicate balance. Long term, supply quality at a fair price and you will succeed 🙂👍🏻.
Yes - you are correct. It’s really a marathon, not a sprint - this hay making and selling it.
Hello your persistence looks like its paying off though it's your job that keeps you going. I agree finding the good buyer who knows the ins and outs of hay making is the best buyer. I'm not selling less than 40 bales to anyone. When I was a kid we made hay and last fall I started a dream again to produce and i surprised myself that I have good knowledge. Watching your videos has helped. Thankyou. To me there is way to many round and big squares. I produced a good quality small square hay bale this year inspite of poor weather conditions. Great video great comments have a good day.
Just seeing your video now. However, very good and spot on. My experience has been similar and the advice I'd give is don't sell junk. Till up your hay fields, plant a good product that's in demand, I grow Orchard Grass hay for horses. Buy a new or modern baler that puts out nice, solid, tight bales. You are selling and customers all have horror stories of prior purchases. So put a quality hay product in a quality bale and your entry in the business will go easier, smoother. And yes, take care of your repeat customers, if you're in it for the long haul. Again, don't scrimp on balers, do that with the tractor, they stay together better than old balers, but think of it like this - a newer baler is like a high end color laser printer, the output is nicer than a crappy printer and most computers (the tractor) can make a document to send to your printer (the baler). Lousy printer, bad output, lousy baler, bad output! Bad products much harder to sell, good products are just easier to sell.
I know what you mean in regards to having other people farm your fields. I did that for several years and all they did was take the hay off but never put anything back. I now have a friend of mine making hay here and he puts both time and money into the fields. It's a real blessing for sure.
Our fields were mined out bad. Thx for watching.
To me I have so many customers that i can't fulfill the demand of the market.
This is happening because nobody wants to make small square bales, all bigger farms make round bales. So in my area I have virtually no competition and very high demand.
Usually my hay is either sold by the time I make it or sold within around 2-3 months. For me, my hardest part is buying the equipment, because I'm not willing to take a loan from bank and also I don't have extra money.
But another reason I started making hay is because of low quality hay that others make around my area. I want to provide good quality hay to my customers.
About how much do you make per cut? I’ve been curious and want to get into cutting hay.
Lots of good information! It took several years for me to get the good loyal customer base. Dealing with people can be the hardest part of selling hay so finding good dependable customers is very important!
I loved hearing your thoughts and experiences! Coming from people who are making hay, but want to take the business further, this was awesome to hear. Thank you for sharing!
Subscribed. We have a guy that pays us to hay our fields.
I want to start processing it ourselves. We have 2 tractors, but no hay equipment.
appreciate you making this content
Tym for sharing 🎉
And I’m in my third yr and they buy it like it’s going out of style
I’m new to Farm life and all the opportunities , this was very helpful thank you and good luck with your Business\farm.
Thx for watching.
The quickest way to make a small fortune selling hay is to start with a large fortune, all kidding aside it's a constant race against mother nature, having options such as wet wrapping or chopping for silage is helpful, but it can be done, after 22 years at it seems there's always a curve ball on the way.
There are definitely some interesting customers!
sell the crap hay to construction workers. they are always looking for woody hay squares for sites and water runoff. the feed grade hay is not as good for construction for it will mold and rott out faster.
I’m trying to do the same thing in Northern California. Will be first generation taking my stab at it as a side hustle if all goes well. Your videos are nice insight thank you!
Thanks and best of luck...👍
Hay smells so great
This is my first year of making hay. I have 4 acres, bought used equipment, have ~ $10K invested in just the hay equipment, moco, rake, tedder, baler, and also bought a No Till and a new tractor to handle it all. The tractor is for more than just hay though. The first time I was out cutting, a neighbor stopped by and asked if I would be interested in cutting another neighbors hay, so now I have 8 acres of hay. My field needs a lot of work, his is established, but needs some food and lime too. So far I sold all but my first cutting which got sun bleached thanks to a bad weather forecast. I now have two repeat customers. For me the hardest part is getting lime and fertilizer as well as off road diesel. The local COOP wants nothing to do with me because I am too small to bother with.
You’ll find a way - Best of luck…👍
I would like to see you open those fields up by grubbing out All that creep you have on the edge of your fields should gain 5+ acre's but you are on site. So you can get a better grasp of the situation. Maybe a winter time job.
Why not feed your marginal hay to stocker cattle.. Buy 3-4 calves and keep them full of hay all winter. Graze them a month on green grass and get that compensatory gain, then sell them(or send them to freezer camp) just in time to start working on hay..
Freezer camp! I love it!
I pay more for excellent quality hay. I’m in Nova Scotia Canada and I know horse people that actually buy hay from Ontario and New Brunswick. I don’t like to pay for something that is not of good quality.
How much do you normally charge per bale?
I am in South Africa also looking to start a hay farm as well
Thanks for watching and best of luck...👍
As a marketing idea id be using the "Moutain Grown Hay" as a selling point. Is it different? Who knows. But water up in mountainous areas has to be cleaner then the water down below.
That could be a good marketing idea.
I know this video is older but if you are still reading comments . Do you think trying to find people to deliver hey for before starting your own hey farm would help fi d customers ?
We do not deliver or arrange for delivery.
How much does an average hay farm make a year. Equally important how much capital you need to get started.
There is no one size fits all number. Every farm and the financial numbers for them are different. Thx for watching.
@@HumbleHaymakers Subsequently how much land is needed to grow hay and you ever think of networking with other hay growers or farms to grow your business....
the HARDEST part is finding GOOD help
High schooler football team
Hello. Great video. This is a loaded question. Sorry. Other farmers please chime in. I’m an OO trucker. I would like to have this a side business/hobby. If I break even with land taxes and maybe some newer equipment down the road I’d be happy. I would be able to offer hay for sale and be able to truck it as well. Do you all see this as a good combo? Experience mowing several hundred acre parks for 11 years. Never grew or baled hay. Early 40’s still able to work long days.
Go for it. Its a life.
I am just establishing my farm. I can't get people to deliver hay. They will advertise hay for sale on Marketplace and when I ask them, How much to deliver to my address, they say, "Let me check" and they never get back. I will have a 1-ton next year to pull a good gooseneck trailer, but for now, my truck can't handle a full load of hay.
Never hurts to try something. If you are new to haying, perhaps offer to help a neighbor to get some experience. A key in farming is timing. That is, when hay is ready to cut, it can't wait till you return home from out on the road. New folks focus on mowing and baling, but one must plant and fertilize the hay to have something worth baling to sell. This is where it's helpful to work with your neighbors to learn. For me, delivering hay was a complete no win propasition. At the time, I worked a job all week, would sell hay on Saturday. If you hire help you won't make any money, so I'd do it myself. Load 200 - 250 bales on the truck alone, strap it down, drive 30 miles, unload, by myself into difficult to reach storage locations (hay lofts are the worse). Kills the entire Saturday on a single delivery. And buyers hate to pay for delivery, basically earning gas money. Hay is very difficult to load and haul, just the nature of this product, why buyers want delivery and why hay sellers won't deliver.
@@w.tranbarger1727 thanks for the info
Finding buyer is no problem for me with a little advertising and word of mouth. I place an ad on Facebook Marketplace and spend $10 to boost it and poof my hay is gone.
So you have good luck with spending money for the ad?
Where are you located. We are in the business but never have enough. Thinking trucking might be an option