Thumb of Michigan | ClusterFarm - 7/11/2025 06:37
Not trying to be a jerk, but this is the problem with hay.
When it's short, the price goes up but the freight to get it where it needs to go eats your profit up. When everyone has it, you basically give it away. We used to bale a lot of hay and put it in barns and try to deal with brokers. Not worth the hassle. Now I grow alfalfa instead and sell it directly to a dairy. They mow and chop. It's one of the most profitable crops I have. Couple small grass patches from neighbors and landlords I bale for my small beef herd. Unless you have a direct market to an end user, seems like you just get taken advantage of and it's just an exercise in frustration wearing yourself and your equipment out and fighting the weather all summer
I guess I'm the exception, selling direct market. Sell mostly to directly to customers, ss bales of 1st cutting $8 a bale, 2nd & later cuttings (usually 3rd, maybe 4th cutting) at $10 a bale. This is the same price as last year (didn't raise price, there is leftover hay in my area from last year, not mine). Probably 80% gets delivered, at up to $1.50 a bale surcharge. Deliveries within 15 miles.
I attempt to put up low sugar/high protein hay and I'm most likely the highest price hay around my area. All my customers are pretty much 'word of mouth'. I do supply one feed store 2nd/3rd cuttings, they sell at $13 a bale. Just took them 10 bales Monday morning, 8 bales are gone already. They brought in another farmers 2nd cutting, when I ran out of last year's hay June 1st, they are still sitting on last 4 out of 10 bales as of Monday. Customers were asking when my hay 2nd cutting was re-appearing, is why I took in hay this week.
I have all my hay lab tested, so I can supply customers analysis if they want (cost is less than $30, BTW). Most of them do want the analysis. I have Vets and Vet Techs that refer folks to me for high quality hay. This is a market I've developed over the last 6-8 years. I think if you teach people what high quality hay is and that you can't necessarily tell by looking, you will have a market.
I have one customer that's buying my 1st cutting, while waiting for her hay to get cut yet this year (local farmer custom does for her). Keep in mind I took some 2nd cutting off a week ago, so you know her 1st cutting is dead ripe. She did ask me to entertain the thought of putting up an additional 1,000 bales for her and she was going to RB her hay to sell. Her husband didn't approve, so far, she's bought 150 bales from me anyhow to feed her horses.
I'm a small timer; I only put up ~10-11K of ss bales and have to put up with some 'Horsey Folks' however. And I have cows to feed, so a place to put not so pretty hay via RB.
Just check local hay auction from Monday, ss bales 1st, $1 to $3, week ago $0.25 to $2, 2nd, $5.50 to $8, week ago $2. RB of 1st, $5 to $30, week ago $7.50 to $30.
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What’s the price of hay in your area?
