# Owning a hay farm



## jondore1992 (Feb 8, 2020)

Hello guys I’m new to this forum sorry if I ask a stupid question. I been haying and farming on my small family’s farm my whole life. I have always wanted to buy a farm and hay it for a profit . I was wondering how would one start off and how to best make the farm grow ?


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## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

Welcome to Hay Talk.



jondore1992 said:


> Hello guys I'm new to this forum sorry if I ask a stupid question. I been haying and farming on my small family's farm my whole life. I have always wanted to buy a farm and hay it for a profit . I was wondering how would one start off and how to best make the farm grow ?


Guess haying for profit is a goal of most everyone one here.

The group can offer lots of suggestions. Might be a good idea to tell about your haying work and and how that will be used in your plans. Specific questions are much easier to help with ideas.

I'll suggest you start off with developing a plan - resources for buying a farm and equipment, building working capital to operate the farm, finding and establishing a market for your hay. For the farm to grow will require a tremendous amount of work and dedication on your part and the Lord's blessings on the entire endeavor.

Shelia


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Welcome Jon,

Rockyhill gave you a great starting point. You might want to dial in your location a little closer, there can be large variances within a couple hundred miles.

Larry


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Typically high profit is small squares and having a market is extremely important because many folks now have a tractor that can handle at a minimum a 4x4 round bale. People that buy rounds think of it like buying at Costco or Sam's Club... bulk equals cheaper.


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## Uphayman (Oct 31, 2014)

As mentioned, what is the market? Before you do anything....... research what is in demand, what the base your serving is. Get out and meet with potential customers. Ask questions. We serve beef, dairy, alpacas, goat, breeding horse, work horse, and occasionally deer. The one thing I failed to do was the early customer development. 
Will your size allow ( justify) you to haul your product? Only 2 customers we have, haul off our farm. While it is more investment, in our case it opens up a huge area of opportunity.

Small steps will keep the mistakes small. Good luck. Go get em.


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## mstuck21 (Oct 4, 2019)

Uphayman said:


> Small steps will keep the mistakes small. Good luck. Go get em.


Can't say it any better. Welcome Jon.

If it was me I may look to rent/lease some land to start without getting a banker involved. This would allow you to produce some hay and help answer a lot of questions about your customer base, equipment, storage, etc. without a land payment hanging over you.

First thing the banker is going to want is a business plan to show them how you intend to pay back the loan. Having a couple years of records showing your sales (and hopefully profit) will go much further.

When you do find a farm that you'd like to own, the rental ground would allow you some time and income to get the farm established.

Good luck.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

In the FWIW column on knowing your market: Someone local decided he had the advanced knowledge on profiting from the straw shortage several years ago. Planted a boatload of rye, killed it early with herbicide and baled it. 1000s of bales. Could not sell it to the market he hoped to profit from-they wanted wheat straw.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> In the FWIW column on knowing your market: Someone local decided he had the advanced knowledge on profiting from the straw shortage several years ago. Planted a boatload of rye, killed it early with herbicide and baled it. 1000s of bales. Could not sell it to the market he hoped to profit from-they wanted wheat straw.


Absolutely, rye straw is the last choice after wheat & oat, horses really do not like it.


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

Develop a low budget, reasonable plan of attack and work your plan. If you don't know where you are going, how do you expect to get there, or how do you know when you have gotten there?

Don't overload yourself financially to start with. Buy quality older equipment, asking questions of your neighbors can really make a difference, and fix it yourself. Then as you improve your experiences and rewards, learning what works for your operation and what's lacking, upgrade gradually. Talking with successful hayers in your area will surely help. Don't be color blind. Lots of good equipment out there that isn't necessarily the predominant color in your area and don't be afraid to apply common sense. When somebody tells you something, do your best to verify that it will apply to your plan. If it doesn't move on.

Expect the weather to be your enemy. Keep both feet on the ground......keep risks as low as will work your plan. Good luck! You'll need it!


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

Methinks we must have rained on Jondore's parade, he seems to have disappeared.

He could have learned from this forum.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Trillium Farm said:


> Methinks we must have rained on Jondore's parade, he seems to have disappeared.
> He could have learned from this forum.


 Or maybe the information he received was sufficient and he did not feel the need to respond back at this point


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

endrow said:


> Or maybe the information he received was sufficient and he did not feel the need to respond back at this point


You are too generous, I would have expected a parting Thank You All, if that were he case, at least that's what I would have done. I see so many of these hit & run people with no manners even in this internet day!


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Trillium Farm said:


> You are too generous, I would have expected a parting Thank You All, if that were he case, at least that's what I would have done. I see so many of these hit & run people with no manners even in this internet day!


Yes it happens often.Either that or they dont want the advise you give them so leave.Some just want justification from others for what they want to do.Then there are some that actually are looking for advise,all types out there.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

We could be worse. On a Sportsman forum, just about any given week an average of 3 new topics will be brand new members with their first post. Any guesses? Dumduhdum.... Looking for hunting lease. One day a longtime member sarcastically typed, "What makes you think the rest of us will tell you when we are looking for land ourselves?" Long story short the OP took offense and exploded on anybody that was being sarcastic and even took to a drawn out SOB story. After a few days of posts, the new member has not been seen since.... and the cycle continues.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

swmnhay said:


> Yes it happens often.Either that or they dont want the advise you give them so leave.Some just want justification from others for what they want to do.Then there are some that actually are looking for advise,all types out there.


Justification from others for what they want to do? Surely there isn't anybody that needy/narcissistic?


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

But there have been some that have been walked through their first year or 2 of hay growing. And have learned and grown until they can give some advice to others that fall down the rabbit hole to here.

But yes one and gone has never been what I call polite.


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