# Straw sales to gardeners



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I did some small square bales of straw last fall, first time I've done that. Made a few thousand bales kept a couple thousand for me to sell.

They sat and sat and sat with very few sales, I was wondering if I had made a big mistake. Then this spring my phone started ringing from gardeners wanting to build raised beds and wedding planners wanting to basically rent bales. I sold out rapidly. I'm hoping to do maybe another thousand bales this fall.

I know it's not hay but I found it fall easier to bale as our area is nice and dry that late in summer. I'm considering doing some more and shift to more of my hay to round baling.

The biggest limit on the market seems to be about 50% of the gardeners want organic straw. Wheat here pretty must needs anti fungal spray or the wheat is garbage. I don't know if there are any varieties that make a ton of straw but don't throw much seed?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

slowzuki said:


> I did some small square bales of straw last fall, first time I've done that. Made a few thousand bales kept a couple thousand for me to sell.
> 
> They sat and sat and sat with very few sales, I was wondering if I had made a big mistake. Then this spring my phone started ringing from gardeners wanting to build raised beds and wedding planners wanting to basically rent bales. I sold out rapidly. I'm hoping to do maybe another thousand bales this fall.
> 
> ...


Do you feel like you can make out financially by going more to round bales? Will you use a preservative with your rounds?

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

My hay income would defiantly take a hit from doing more rounds. I did run out of round bales this year though and they save me valuable time in the summer.

I'm flirting with preservative, I've got the sprayer and nozzles now, need to find a filter and mount the tank.

I have a hay dryer fan I bought from a farmer in town who is now growing houses in his fields. I'm looking at building a small dryer to dry 20 tons or so per batch but the price of acid is looking like this would be used if I'm an percent or two high not 5-10% too high.

The choice isn't completely financial but it looks like each small straw bale sold can replace the profit of two hay bales.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

For those uses, I am guessing your hay bales could be passed as straw bales. Call em 'hay straw' and let them sit in the sun for a few days.

Maybe I am underestimating the wedding planner who wants to rent your straw's ability to distinguish between fescue, alfalfa, oat, wheat, orard, etc?


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Find one of the yuppies to do a test run for you. Plant a few hay bales and a few straw bales. How would they compare?


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

No you are bang on in your wedding planner evaluation.

Currently lining up a second rental of the same straw and hoping to sell it to a customer near the rental once its done.

Will see how much pain in the butt this is...



deadmoose said:


> For those uses, I am guessing your hay bales could be passed as straw bales. Call em 'hay straw' and let them sit in the sun for a few days.
> 
> Maybe I am underestimating the wedding planner who wants to rent your straw's ability to distinguish between fescue, alfalfa, oat, wheat, orard, etc?


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

That is a good point, most don't want hay in case of seeds. I also have a thing against selling good hay for mulch.



deadmoose said:


> Find one of the yuppies to do a test run for you. Plant a few hay bales and a few straw bales. How would they compare?


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

How much do you charge to rent the straw? Do you have to bring it in and set it up for the event? Thanks.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

My quote to them was based on me dropping a trailer of straw (its already loaded). Then I come back and load it myself while they nurse hangovers. In Canadian $ I'm charging 350$ for the 150 bales and 4$ for every wet or broken bale. Its a 40 minute drive away but not far from where I work.

In retrospect I probably should have charged a bit more but have only ever let people borrow straw for parades before.

I did tell them 1$ a bale to rent it if they picked it up and returned it and I helped load/unload at my barn.



barnrope said:


> How much do you charge to rent the straw? Do you have to bring it in and set it up for the event? Thanks.


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