# Hay Auction Tips



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

From Hay and Forage Grower.

Regards, Mike

http://hayandforage.com/marketing/get-top-dollar-your-auction-hay


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

I wish we had a hay auction nearby (I think, as I have no experience with them). It just sounds like a convenient way to move some hay if you're not too concerned with price.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I've taken a few 100 loads to the Rock valley auction.Clark Ahders is the auctioneer in the pic.They used to have a very good market.Now they got their own trucks and haul in hay from a few hundred miles away and flood the market.They will have a big stock pile of hay sitting there and any time the price nudges up they sell some and it depresses the price.They broker hay on the side which takes away from the auction also.

Either way the owner makes money commission on the hay plus freight in and out.

IMO it sure was a kick in the ass to the locals that sold there.

Good for the buyers I guess.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

All good points in the article.

I can't stress enough never hide a bad spot in a bale, if you don't want it seen then don't load it. In our area not only do the amish and mennonite have long memories they talk with each other a lot, stiff one with a bad bale and everybody will hear about it.

Appearance does matter, nice tight round bales, stacked neatly on the truck will bring more than a haphazard load that looks like it was stacked by somebody who's never handled hay before.

We stack all our rounds on end so when they come out of the barn they are still a nice round tight bale, ones that are deformed in anyway most buyers will assumed it was stacked while tough and has settled when they dried out more.

When I load a truck I make sure if I have top bales that are bleached from sun exposure that they show on the load, I do the same with bottom bales that might have pallet imprints on them. Then once I'm at the auction I take a probe and pull the green out so folks can see the bleaching or pallet imprints are only superficial and nothing is wrong with the rest of the bale.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I sold 60 round bales at auction this spring--over 3 sale dates. This was a test for me.

At each sale, I took 6 OG 1000# bales stored inside, 6 1st cutting alfalfa stored inside and 6 1st cutting alfalfa stored outside.

The inside stored OG and alfalfa brought the best prices at the sales each time. The outside stored brought fair to poor prices, largely depending on on what the end bales in the row looked like!

Lessons learned:

1) Feed the poorer stuff; sell the good stuff.

2) Watch the sale prices: High price this week usually means low sale price next week.

3) Watch the weather: Poor weather usually means fewer buyers, lower prices. Better weather usually means more buyers (and often more sellers) and higher prices.

4) Don't sell it all at once--spread it out over multiple sale dates.

5) Sell through an auctioneer that is reported on the USDA Ag market news.

6) Don't sell at the last sale of the year--everybody brings their excess and dumps a lot of crap--drives prices down.

7) Alfalfa/OG mix usually doesn't bring a very good price (at least hereabouts).

8) Get there early to unload--This auctioneer sells in order of arrival.

9) Along the same lines--make friends with the auctioneer's helpers--they can help you or hurt you.

I'll do it again next year--but differently.

Ralph


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Here you sell it on your trailer.Then deliver it to the buyer,first 10 miles free.After that you get pd milage.

To sell at auction here is a full day shot.


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## OhioHay (Jun 4, 2008)

We are blessed here in eastern Ohio with a hay auction almost everyday of the week. The large amish population makes this possible. The auction has good points and bad points. The plus is a guaranteed way to sell hay and guaranteed checks. The downsides are there is often no rhyme or reason to pricing. You can haul in two loads of the exact same hay and have a $40 a ton difference in price. The other big downfall is the time factor as Swmnhay said. It takes most of the day to sell one load. When we started seling hay 25 years ago, everything went to the auctions. Overtime we got established customers and now almost all hay is sold privately. A lot of times now we go to the auction more for the social side of things.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

At the auction around here you want to be early... but not too early to be the first one selling. people are still setting the price on the first load of hay. But you also don't want to be last. The hay is just sold by the bale here. No weight on them. That is one reason why I went to a 4x5 baler form a 5x5.5. Might only be $5 price difference per bale between the two. Funny thing is since I went to the smaller baler I have not been to the hay auction as Iam selling all privately.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Here the only two auctions I attend are within 30 miles, I can leave at 8:30 and be home around noon. We usually haul two loads. 11 on each truck. Friday sales are predominately dairy guys so we haul the stuff the dairy guys want more on Fridays, Saturdays are predominately horse people that work on Fridays so on that sale day we haul stuff that horse people usually prefer.

We've been hauling hay to the same auctions for decades, guys that were knee high to their daddies when we started are now bringing their kids who are knee high to them. We also have a reputation of only hauling quality hay in, so even on off days we still stay around an average price. If required I have no sold on the odd occasion, tell the auctioneer what it has been bringing and I can usually get that price, has been years since I've brought a load home.

Lower quality stuff I sell privately or grind for the beef cows so the folks at the auction never see anything but my best hay, this also helps in the long run as it bolsters you're reputation for only hauling in premium hay which will bring you a better price as well.


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