# What inspired you to go in the Hay biz?



## greengirl (Mar 24, 2009)

I am very interested to find out how you all got into the Hay Biz. Is it a family Heirloom so to speak past down from generation to generation? Or did you want to reinvent yourself from living a busy life in the City? Is it your Love for Horses or something you just thought would be a good earner? i would love to know what you think.


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## HALLSHAY (Nov 30, 2008)

I was born into it. Picture of my father and grandfather in the early 60's.


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## Hayboy1 (Jul 19, 2008)

I too was born into it. It has nothing to do with my "love" for horses thats for sure...I like the horses..its the owners I could do without!! It's amazing how many horse owners have become "experts" on hay quality just from buying hay!!


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## Production Acres (Jul 29, 2008)

Oil prices control corn prices. The big 3-4 packers control corn prices. Corn prices control Cattle prices. Auction prices for commercial cattle control registered cattle prices indirectly. The government controlls milk prices. Milk prices control dairy cattle prices.
We decided in the 90's that if we were going to make a living farming, we had best control our own prices for our products. There are no gov. subsidies for hay. Hay is not a traded commodity on the stock exchange. Local farmers set their own prices based on their bank account, their cost of production, their local competition, their marketing ability. 
My kind of product!


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## Production Acres (Jul 29, 2008)

In the 70's we raised commercial cattle.
In the 80's we raised Holstein springers, corn, and soybeans.
In the 90's we raised registered Charolais cattle.
In the late 90's we sold every cow we owned.
Pet owners will pay a premium for a premium product with a premium service. You will never get that feeding good hay to cattle.


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## Production Acres (Jul 29, 2008)

Oil prices control corn prices. The big 3-4 packers control corn prices. Corn prices control Cattle prices. Auction prices for commercial cattle control registered cattle prices indirectly. The government controlls milk prices. Milk prices control dairy cattle prices.
We decided in the 90's that if we were going to make a living farming, we had best control our own prices for our products. There are no gov. subsidies for hay. Hay is not a traded commodity on the stock exchange. Local farmers set their own prices based on their bank account, their cost of production, their local competition, their marketing ability. 
My kind of product!


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

My Dad milked cows so we had hay for them,sm sq & haylage.Bought rd baler and started doing custom work.It helped me survive the farm crisis of the 80s. Over the yrs added more of my own acres as the custom work has dropped,alot bought there own balers.


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## greengirl (Mar 24, 2009)

Wow thanks for the awesome replies Guys. My Aunt had a farm and when I used to go there on Holidays as a kid I used to love partaking in all the farm life activities. Unfortunately Agriculture is always looked on as a second rate Industry in some countries until things get dire so i hope that changes soon.


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## OhioHay (Jun 4, 2008)

We quit milking in 1989 when Grandpa passed away. Dad and I had milked enough cows and we knew how to raise hay, so that is the direction we went. It doesn't hurt to have the worlds largest Amish population in your back yard too!


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## erancher (Jul 29, 2008)

I love owning and restoring cars, mainly British cars but I do own a '68 Mustang and I wish I still had my '69 Firebird. I needed more space for my car collection and ended up on eight acres with a 3,000 sq. ft. barn...I mean garage. One neighbor ran cattle on the 7 acres not homesteaded but they had some family problems and sold off most of the cattle. I tried to get my property baled but no one was interested in seven acres and I was worried about the status of my land. Other nieghbor even called the appraisial district to turn me in for not using the property for ag. Long story short (I know, too late) I ended up with a 24T and a JD #5 sickle mower and I kinda became the nieghborhood hay baler. My wife is my operator and the first bale either one of us ever saw baled, dropped from the back of that 24T (which was also the first baler we ever saw up close and was pulled by the first tractor we had ever driven). That first baling was kind of a Keystone Cops type affair. I really enjoy baling and I enjoy working on all the equipment.


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## hunt2r (Dec 4, 2008)

I only have 20 acres tillable and tried the feeder cattle business but with the cost of buying all of my feed, I was a couple of Vet bills from losing money. With such small acreage I figured about the only thing in farming I could make money at was the hay business. I was raised on a farm and have never lost my love for the farm so this is my relaxation (most of the time) and connection to my past.


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## haydays (Mar 26, 2009)

OhioHay said:


> We quit milking in 1989 when Grandpa passed away. Dad and I had milked enough cows and we knew how to raise hay, so that is the direction we went. It doesn't hurt to have the worlds largest Amish population in your back yard too!


Oh so you live near Amish People. I have seen them on TV a lot but have never met one. Yeah they must be good with the Land seeing that they despise technology so much.


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## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

My family has allways farmed , mostly tobacco, row crops, cattle and the hay comes along with all of it. We dont raise tob any more and kinda growing more hay instead of row crops , Farming is something thats in your blood , i really take pride and truly love farming , i cant imagine doing anything else, but i have to work off the farm to ,just cant pay all the bills with one check (lol) . THOMAS


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## 4020man (Jun 21, 2008)

I guess you could say I was born into it. We had cattle here through the 70's after grandpa got rid of the cattle, My grandpa, uncle and dad got into hogs so there was always straw to bale. After they got rid of the hogs in the late 80's, the barns sat empty until about 8 years ago, when we got into livestock again.


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## CherryBlosson (Mar 27, 2009)

It's great to get the different feed back. I have family who have also been in it as a family tradition but they enjoyed their work too. Some of the boys are still carrying on the family Firm as it were but they live on the other side of the Planet in Brazil, farming over there now!


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

I guess I was born into it also. My dad and uncle milked cows all their lives, so we grew our own hay. Dad also did custom baling for many years with a New Holland 850 chain banger round baler. I joined the farm full time in 1995 and we milked until 2002. We finally replaced the old 850 in 2001 with a new 688 round baler. I did custom work to make payments. Cows left, decided more money in alfalfa than $2 corn and $5 beans plus I had host of dairy clientel with my day job as an area manager for Agri-King Nutrition. Started in 2002 with 50 acres of alfalfa, catching idiot bricks on the wagons behind a NH 570 baler. Expanded acres, bought a Hoelscher accumulator. Expanded acres again, bought a semi and drop deck trailer. Expanded acres again, bought a 3x3 square baler. Need to expand acres again to pay for new baler!

PS. Still more money in alfalfa than in $5 corn and $10 beans.


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## Tamara in TN (Jul 29, 2008)

> haydays said:
> 
> 
> > Oh so you live near Amish People. I have seen them on TV a lot but have never met one. Yeah they must be good with the Land seeing that they despise technology so much.


you ain't from here,are you ???

T.


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## Riverside Cattle (Jun 4, 2008)

Out of high school I got a job working for a Corporate Farm in the Columbia Basin. I ended up on their hay/cattle side of things. Fell in love with it. After college (minining engineering) I didn't want to chase mining jobs so I convinced my dad to lease the family farm to me and started farming. My grandfather quit the dairy/wheat operation in the late 60's and only had a few beef head and leased all crop land out. So I am a 4th generation but it kinda skipped a generation. I wish I could have started farming before my Grandfather died. He won a lot of grass farming awards in the 50's and 60's, but guit farming full time before I was really around. I never talked farming with him. He was a custom cabinet maker all of my life


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## CantonHayGuy (Sep 25, 2008)

I'm a helicopter mechanic by trade and I work for the biggest hospital in S.F. . Prior to moving to SD, my wife and I had not lived the rural life. Original intentions following retirement from the USMC was to find some acreage where the wife could have her horse(s) and other barnyard critters and me.... I was gonna raise some bison. LOL

So far the bison haven't materialized (don't think they will, either), but we did get a place big enough for the wife's animals. One of the aircraft mechanics I work with farms up north of Sioux Falls. We started off buying hay from him, but he was responsible for helping me get started in doing my own hay. Shortly thereafter, we picked up an adjacent 10 acres that we planted in hay to use as a pasture. Shortly thereafter, sister-in-law bought 5 acres next to my 10 acre field.... planted 3 of that in hay. I decided I wanted to make a go of harvesting what I toil to make grow. It may be corny, but it gives me satisfaction to see those bales in the barn after each cutting. By the grace of God, I've yet to have any hay rained on before it gets put away. Life is good 'cause I'm able to feed our two Tennessee Walkers (soon to be 3), 1 Mule, 3 llamas and the 2 goats..... what I don't need for my animals, I've been able to find buyers pretty readily.


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## timok (Feb 20, 2010)

Born into it,took a 20 year vacation from ag , now necessity demands my involvement. Do I enjoy it ? Depends on the particular instance and what the weather is doing. I work 40 hrs so my hay time is limited and my equipment is marginal at best but they do what I need of them. Many of my machines were Dads, hauled from NE Iowa to S Ok The 400 Farmall, the # 5 JD mower and the 200 Allis sq baler all Dads and still earning their keep. The 60 Oliver and a JD trailer pto grinder will be next to make the journey 
Take care Tim


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