# What is good hay?



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I know it's an open ended question, but I think I'm selling too much hay for mulch hay that could be sold for horse hay. I have observed local competition making small square hay out of some of the weediest, crappiest looking, 5 times rained on junk I've ever seen. I watched a millionaires farm bale some hay that was LOADED with Queen Anne's lace, dogbane, milkweed, etc. take it home and feed it to their horses!!

Am I expecting too much from my fields to produce "horse quality" hay? 
I have only had one other person look at my fields and they thought some of the weedier fields looked clean enough for horse hay and that I should stop selling so much of it as mushroom hay, but I'm not sure of their knowledge level. 
Wished I knew what level of weeds was acceptable or even expected. Some of my fields are only a few % weeds. Some are 10-20%. The worst might be 50% weeds. Even the worst look fantastic after they are baled!!! 
I know some weeds are toxic and shouldn't be baled and some weeds are fine, even desired by some horses and livestock. 
Seems like to me I could do a lot of good getting an experienced hay man to have a look at what I've got.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Horsey people are a fickle bunch. What might be good for one horsey person (nevermind the horse) will be junk to another. You are looking to please the people more their horses. Around here most horse owners really like green looking hay, but most times that doesn't affect feed value that much. And horses don't see color I'm told. Why don't you hold back a few of your better bales and try and sell them to horse owners.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

All in the eye of the beholder ! What one person may not like at all . Works fine for someone else ! One person may feed what a horse or what ever will eat, another will feed them what THEY want them to eat .

Oh yea price has a lot to do with it ! Kinda like buying gourmet food for your dog or some off brand .


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Is it wrong to sell hay to a horse hay buyer if I know it contains a decent amount of weeds? 
Sure doesnt seem to matter to my competition!! They sell bricks that have a lot of weeds in them!


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Years ago I had a field of weeds. I sprayed it, had a friend roll it up, and I told him he could have the bales. He sold them to a horse breeder, who fed them to his herd. Personally, I wouldn't feed them, because I have boarding customers that are pretty picky and making decent hay is something I enjoy trying to do. However, now when I roll up weeds, I sell the bales. Some people buy the rolls for cows, some people buy them for horses. I really don't care 'cause the price is the same.

I square bale "horse hay" because it's easier to feed and with the accumulator/grapple I can deal with the squares with less effort than the rolls. Once they are in the shed they become my daughter's problem, but with rolls I have to load the blasted things to get rid of them. They are however, the same dried grass we are feeding the horses. Cow people buy hay, horsey people buy pet food. How much they are willing to pay for the pet food usually depends on how much disposable income they have, how much they love their pet(s), and how little they know about the dried grass they are buying. Cow people care about nutritional value, horsey people care about "looks pretty, smells pretty"......it's still just dried grass.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> I know it's an open ended question, but I think I'm selling too much hay for mulch hay that could be sold for horse hay. I have observed local competition making small square hay out of some of the weediest, crappiest looking, 5 times rained on junk I've ever seen. I watched a millionaires farm bale some hay that was LOADED with Queen Anne's lace, dogbane, milkweed, etc. take it home and feed it to their horses!!
> 
> Am I expecting too much from my fields to produce "horse quality" hay?
> I have only had one other person look at my fields and they thought some of the weedier fields looked clean enough for horse hay and that I should stop selling so much of it as mushroom hay, but I'm not sure of their knowledge level.
> ...


You could take a load to the hay auction


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I have some weedy hay now. Some kosha weed got pretty thick and some wild lettuce in others (neither of which is bad for animals). I will adjust the price lower to account for it. I will tell people that there are weeds in the hay and what kind of weeds they are. It's up to them then what they feed it to. I always disclose to buyers what condition I think the hay is. If it was weeds or not. Then it's up to them to buy it and to feed it.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

JD3430 said:


> Is it wrong to sell hay to a horse hay buyer if I know it contains a decent amount of weeds?
> Sure doesnt seem to matter to my competition!! They sell bricks that have a lot of weeds in them!


All you can do is tell them ,let them make the choice . I always try to decribe my hay as best I can lots of the time I'd say I make it out to be worse then it is . In the end I tell them IT IS WHAT IT IS .


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I can store maybe 50-60 bales inside for the winter.. I could also pallet and tarp another 50 outside no problem. Problem is, I don't know the quality or lack thereof, of what I have.
So far, I have only advertised the absolute cleanest, driest I have as "horse hay". Sold 100 4x5 bales of it already. 
Could I be selling myself short by not selling some of the next-level -higher -in weeds hay that I have? Some might think that would be good hay! Compared to what I see baled around here, it might be. 
Guess its better to err on the cleaner side than try to sell baled weeds like I see some of the local competition. 
I sold 10 4x5's to a local horse owner. She said the last hay she bought was so full of thistle that one of her horses had to have its gums operated on to remove them. She said she paid $7/small square for it!


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

All you can do is try to sell some . Sold some hay to a guy last year . Hay last year was horrible . He came an picked it up. Ask me if I thought his horses would eat it ,I said yea I think they will . I called him later as he was wanting some other hay . He told me they would not eat it ,just picked at it and shoved it around . All I could do was say bring it back and I'll give you your money back ,it was like 75 bales and he was about an hour away . He had bought hay from me the year before and raved about it . Tried to explain we are in the middle of a drought ,my hay sucks really and yea it's going to cost more because there is none . He never did bring it back , and who knows maybe he will be back and maybe not . This guy has the money to spend on what ever kind of hay he wants . At the time it was the best I had .

Moral of this story : you can please some of the people all the time , some of the people some of the time , some people none of the time !

Deal with the public your going to have some complaints .


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I sold some of my Teff hay to a big stable south of Denver with about 30-40 horses. The teff hay was kind of questionable turning yellow in some spots. I'm learning how the stuff cures. Not moldy though. Anyways I thought surely they are going to call and say it sucks. Well they called alright. But asking to buy the rest of what I'm going to bale this summer of the Teff and asking about my other hays. The one thing that is important is pricing it for the quality.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Another thing I try always to do is have people come look at my hay before buying it if they are planning to have it delivered. I think with rounds it's harder to see what the hay will be like inside then a square of any size as you can't pull a corner back a little to look inside some.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

List it as hay baled dry and stored dry suitable for horses. List a price range from low to high, low being the weedier stuff you think might just pass as horse hay, the highest being your best stuff. Tell people to come out and look at it. I start out showing my highest priced hay so they know I'm not out of line with my high price, then I see what they want to do from their. I had one lady I showed my $120 a bale hay then worked down from there, she ended up buying some I didn't even have listed for sale, hay that sat outside on the ground going on two years but it was baled dry so no mold in the bale, was some pretty ripe stuff with some weeds as well when I baled it. She ended up buying about 40 bales of that for her horses at $25 a bale plus another $2.50 a bale for delivery (was within ten miles). Said it was better than she'd been feeding.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Teslan said:


> Another thing I try always to do is have people come look at my hay before buying it if they are planning to have it delivered. I think with rounds it's harder to see what the hay will be like inside then a square of any size as you can't pull a corner back a little to look inside some.


I have a probe I made just for that reason. Has a t handle welded to a piece of stainless 1/4 rod about 14" long then another piece of 1/4 rod about 3/4" long welded at a 45 angle on the end pointing towards the handle. Shove it in the bale and pull some out, I probe my round bales after getting to the auctions and don't pull the sample all the way out, jsut leave it hanging on the side of the bale.


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## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

I was thinking about this while loading out for horse owner. Jeff will always describe all the worst possible things and probably lose some sales but we'd rather have customers find we err toward selling better hay than they expect. Regular customers know that the hay will not have any unpleasant surprises. Trouble here (and probably everywhere else) is customers wanting the top quality hay at what they've "heard" or "seen advertised" hay selling for. Last year we didn't have an extended drought, just an unusually dry spell but I didn't want to sell all our hay out before winter for our regular pickup load buyers. [Ask any of our regular customers and they will agree that we have a good quality horse hay, firm bales, practically no weeds. Undoubtedly in that same sentence they will add but it is "high".] Jeff & I discussed the selling price for that time and I decided on $6 a bale and he said I could deal with the customers. I got way more cussing out that anybody should have to endure for just answering the phone!

Shelia


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## Fossil02818 (May 31, 2010)

We had always sent samples of our own mixed alfalfa/grass hay out to Dairy One in Ithaca for lab analysis since we needed very high quality for our breeding and lactating ewes. I then started sending samples from the other fields I custom hay for absentee owners. I was curious about the nutritional quality of these "weedy" fields and was surprised by the results. Many of the weeds are similar to grass and legume hay in that the stage of growth at harvest is the greatest variable in quality. Mowing young plants before they have gone to seed produces higher quality but lower yields just like other hay. I am not talking about toxic weeds such as milkweed or hemp dogbane which really shouldn't be fed in anything but incidental amounts. The weeds that I have baled and then tested were plants such as dandilions or plantain. I sell all our hay the way mlappin does. We show all our choices and describe the fields as well as producing the lab results. Most times customers will opt for the higher priced option since they have more confidence in the tested quality.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Dad read something years ago about dandylions. They are just about as good to feed as alfalfa. Sure they dont have as much energy or protein as alfalfa but they are sooo easy to digest. They digest fast and therefore the animal can eat more of them in a day and therefore do about as good on them as alfalfa. In fact the dandylion leaf is even easy for us people to digest.

One thing I dont like about some horses people is they want by best hay for the price of my crap hay. My best hay goes to the dairy and my worst hay I bed my cattle on. If they do want to poor hay just dont complain to me later about it.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

RockyHill said:


> I got way more cussing out that anybody should have to endure for just answering the phone!
> 
> Shelia


I've never had that before, of course most of my customers are repeat or word of mouth and they already know what the person that told them is paying. I've only advertised hay a few times but had the prices right in the ad.


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

My philosophy is "What ever makes the customer happy and keeps them coming back!" I also tell the customers that I will replace what they can't feed. If I find a bale with one or two "bad" flakes, when delivering, I'll tell the customer to feed what's good and discard the rest! I do not charge for that bale! If the whole bale is "bad", I take it home and put it in the mulch pile.
JMHO, HTH, Dave


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## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

mlappin said:


> I've never had that before, of course most of my customers are repeat or word of mouth and they already know what the person that told them is paying. I've only advertised hay a few times but had the prices right in the ad.


These were a couple of regular customers that just didn't want the price going up! They hadn't made prior arrangements for their hay supply and just wanted what they wanted at their price. I told them it would only be a temporary thing if we got to cut more hay, which we did. I think it was frustration on their part as their grain feed had a big price increase just a few days before and I was just their final straw, blade of hay rather.


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## richard m (Jul 10, 2013)

Hey if someone told you that you should be selling the hay for feed and not mushroom it maybe you should check into it. I have not seen your hay or know who told you not to be mushrooming it, maybe it is not horse hay but what about for cattle? Has to be worth more then taking it to the mushroom house? I think with the rain this year hay will be in short supply so don`t give it to the mushroom guys if you can help it.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

richard m said:


> Hey if someone told you that you should be selling the hay for feed and not mushroom it maybe you should check into it. I have not seen your hay or know who told you not to be mushrooming it, maybe it is not horse hay but what about for cattle? Has to be worth more then taking it to the mushroom house? I think with the rain this year hay will be in short supply so don`t give it to the mushroom guys if you can help it.


That's what I'm thinkin, but what do I charge for cattle hay? How do I find those buyers? 
Craig's list anoint working reall well. 
I have like 300 4x5 cattle bales ready to sell!


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## richard m (Jul 10, 2013)

Cecil County fair is going on this week and I don`t think it is too far from you. There will be hay entered for judging if you have time you could go and have a look at what other guys are baling and what the judges think is good hay? Maybe watch a tractor pull look at some equipment also


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

I'm with endrow on this one considering your location. Be better to wait till about October 1 and take a load to a auction. Might make a few conections. watch a hundred loads sell and you'll have a good idea what you have.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

You will laugh, but I feel like a fish out of water trying an auction, even though i live near the Lancaster county auctions. I have no idea what to do, how to do it, etc. 
I can keep plenty of hay around for a fall/winter auction. Maybe I'll give it a try.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

For your question JD, down here horse hay is Bermuda/Baha'i grass has that has been properly amended, tested, and is weed free for the most part, it should not have any rain on the hay after baling....acceptable weed count...less than 2% or very damn few and far between, otherwise you are asking for problems from the horsey crowd....not all are the same of course, lazy horsey owners (roll buyers) you can get by with more weeds and less amendments for desired (RFQ values), in general lesser quality....

If my hay doesn't meet those criteria, I generally will roll it....then I could care less who buys it....just as long as they bring cash....


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

JD3430 said:


> You will laugh, but I feel like a fish out of water trying an auction, even though i live near the Lancaster county auctions. I have no idea what to do, how to do it, etc.
> I can keep plenty of hay around for a fall/winter auction. Maybe I'll give it a try.


Just mill around like ya know what you are doin'. Watch what others are doing. You might be surprised & find somebody you know there, strike up a conversation with 'em.

For pricing, call some of the area feed stores & ask how much they are getting. They will be high, but that'll give you an idea of what you might sell for. I thought I was high asking $40 or $45 for a 5x5 until I found out the local Purina was getting $50 for a 4x4 (or 4x5, not sure which).


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

JD3430 said:


> You will laugh, but I feel like a fish out of water trying an auction, even though i live near the Lancaster county auctions. I have no idea what to do, how to do it, etc.
> I can keep plenty of hay around for a fall/winter auction. Maybe I'll give it a try.


Nothin to it. Take a small load to start, 3-4 ton, get there about 1 to 2 hours before start so your not first or last. Pick a nice day when a lot of your competition will be doing fall field work. I always liked weaverland auction in New Holland because there are plenty of diversions in walking distance to kill time . Have a notepad to take directions in case a Amish broker buys it, he won't want to take time to direct you well.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I know my trucker would probably have no problem taking 8 tons up for me, but then I'm on the clock while he's waiting for auction, etc. 
I have to get my own trailer and stop borrowing my buddy's trailer. Just tapped out of $ right now.


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## Xp4 (Jul 16, 2013)

Do you test your hay? I would think selling hay with a lab analysis would help back up your pricing.

Then again with horse people it may not matter.

Heres some RFV guidelines when it comes to cattle http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/sr/sr1056-e/7table2.pdf

As a reference right now, $190 is the going rate for grinder hay, which for us was alfalfa that got rained on.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Xp4 said:


> As a reference right now, $190 is the going rate for grinder hay, which for us was alfalfa that got rained on.


Xp4 I would guess there is quite a deference in hay prices between Kansas and Pa on that type of hay any way . I doubt they sell much grinding hay in Pa. or the east coast .

Cattle numbers are going to drop a lot past the Mississippi .


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

richard m said:


> Cecil County fair is going on this week and I don`t think it is too far from you. There will be hay entered for judging if you have time you could go and have a look at what other guys are baling and what the judges think is good hay? Maybe watch a tractor pull look at some equipment also


PA boys aren't too welcomed in MD, either.....lol


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## richard m (Jul 10, 2013)

lot of Pa guys at come down for the fair don`t know why you would not be welcome


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## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

I had a field once that looked like it was loaded with milk weed but they hay was very nice timothy ,trefoil and brome. I had a customer that needed hay and we had a 3 days of sunny weather so i decided to make horse hay out. As i was mowing it i was getting more and more stressed out about how much milkweed there was, this was going to one of my better customers and i didn't want to losethem so after tedding my helper and i spent 6 hrs picking the milkweed out of the hay.We picked up 2 pickup truck loads of milkweed from this field,we didn't get it all but i guessed we got 80% of it.This field was about 15 acres and it ended up yielding 34 tons of hay and maybe 1/2 ton of milkweed.Was it worth all the effort? My customer was happy with the hay and impressed with my dedication but when you do the math 1250#/68000# its end up only 1.8% weeds. If some one would have told me there was only 2% milkweeds i would have thought they were crazy! So now when i mow a field i can more accurately judge the weed content and market that hay accordingly. For you to gain this experiance i wouldnt advise picking every weed in a 15 acre field but maybe sort through one of your bales to see how many weeds are really in a bale. On one of your 800# bales at 20% would be 160# of weeds!


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I have also picked out dogbane by hand, too. 
I hate dogbane. It's the BANE of my existence.

What I don't quite get is how much % of weeds, as long as they're not toxic, are acceptable? 
Thing is, so many weeds are toxic!


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## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

An acceptable % of weeds is going to vary customer to customer the trick is to learn what they are willing to accept. I have some customers that are so picky that they don't want a bale that the sun has bleached it in one side and i have others that will feed anything as long as its not moldy. The trick is to match they hay to the customer. If you have some hay that your not sure about let them try one and see what they say. Tell them that on a normal year when perfect hay is plentifull you might have sent this hay to the mushroom guy but being that this is a terrible year and perfect hay is going to be scarce you felt that this hay was worth feeding. Worst case scenario you send it for mushroom hay later in the year. On a bad year like this is when i have gained some of my best customers because i brought them something, snowballs are not very filling


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

I would say that is about right Ben . There is no written rule that will tell you how many weeds are to many .


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

You are lucky to have the mushroom hay buyers JD. If you don't have your own animals to feed your lower quality hay it's always good to have a few buyers that you can depend on to buy your lower quality hay. I find it interesting that everyone I know that feeds animals and also sells hay around here and also I think on this forum always sells their best hay and feeds the lower quality hay to their own animals. I don't have any livestock so I need those lower quality buyers.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

So here's some bales I just made. Take a look tell me what you think of the side of this bale. What can you say about the bale based on what you see?


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Hard to tell from a distance but it looks pretty clean to me...no obvious rings of weeds in the roll or thick weed stalks showing. I sure do like the looks of those net wrapped rolls.


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## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

I could sell that hay here without a problem for about $150-$165 a ton . With the weather that we all have had in the north east i think you should try selling some of that for horse hay. Try it, what do you have to lose?, if people don't like it reload it up and and send it for mushroom hay.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Consider selling one roll to a horse customer and see if they like it. Those who feed rolls are more conditioned to see a weed now and then.

When I look at my different hay fields I always ask myself would the horses or cows be happy grazing that field?


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

That hay looks fine JD, better than what the girls will be eating this summer and into fall.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> So here's some bales I just made. Take a look tell me what you think of the side of this bale. What can you say about the bale based on what you see?


There are a lot of critters that would be happy to be eating that come winter.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Looks better than a lot of the yellow hay being put up around here. I have not put up a lot of good hay yet but doing better than most. There is lots of hay here thats been laying on the ground for over two weeks being rained on. Should be a good price for any hay here that is just green.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Ok, here's the shocker. That is my WORST hay I have. It looks GREAT in the bale, but if you unroll it, you would see weeds. Maybe 25% weeds. 
When I see what gets baled into small squares around here, I feel crazy selling that as mushroom hay. 
I think my biggest hurdle is, I sell a roll or several rolls like that to a customer and they see the weeds and want money back, etc.. 
When they ask me what is in the roll should I say "mostly grass and I saw some weeds, too"?
I don't want to get a bad rep, I want a good rep.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

If there is 25% weeds in that hay you did a dang good job of hiding it in the middle. I, for one, think you are vastly over-estimating ---it what I can see from this picture is an example.

Somebody earlier suggested you unroll 1 roll & pick the weeds out by hand. I'm gonna suggest you do that, & try to pick out the worst roll. Sure, it's gonna take a while, but then you could tell for sure. I think you would be surprised. (And yes, if I was closer I'd help ya.)


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I beginning to think you are right. 
Maybe I oughta cut some of my lower-end hay a little slack.


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## FCF (Apr 23, 2010)

Be honest with your customers and tell them it has some weeds in it. Let them make up their mind what is acceptable and if they think it is worth what you are asking.

Had a new customer last year that wanted me to supply all of his hay this year but he wanted more than I make. Called him up during the winter and everything was OK. Then called him when I was ready to deliver told him the hay was better quality than last year, less weeds and made more timely. He asked the price and I told the same as last year, $4.00 a bale. He told me I was at least 50 cents to a $1.00 too high. Other customers are fine with the price as I didn't go crazy in pricing last year.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Like what has been said, tell em it has some weeds in it. Let em have the first bale to try at half price, no returns. Or better yet let em have the first bale at mushroom price so your not out anything, again no returns. If the horse eats it then you can sell em more at a better price.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Good ideas. Full round bales are a little tough to give away.
I gotta start remembering to make some 4x4's for samples and smaller buyers.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

> make some 4x4's for samples and smaller buyers.


One member on here lives in the Ocala area told me last year he bales a bunch of I think he said 4x3 rolls. Said the horsy people love it, it's small enough they can handle it and carry one in the back of a SUV. Ya might try that.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

JD-It is hard to tell quality by looking at a pic of a bale, but it sure doesn't look overly weedy. I agree, you are probably over estimating the weed content-it always looks worse while you are cutting than it does in the bale.

At the risk of being placed in the "horsey set", I have horses, we board horses and we sell only horse hay. My primary business is small squares but I have been making around 100 4 x 5s per year to supply to my square bale customers. The customers who use rbs for the most part are placing them in a feed ring and don't look at them that much. Most important from what I have seed is do the horses eat it and does it have mold. Most of the rolls in a paddock are going to get a little mildew in them anyway unless there are a lot of horses in the paddock. We feed rounds in paddocks with 2 and 3 horses in them and it takes about 8-10 days for them to finish the bale depending on nighttime temp and whether it snows.

So, if it isn't moldy and it has some green and the horses are hungry, it will get eaten. 50$/roll.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

For me with small squares and large squares weeds sometimes tend to disappear. If they are leafy weeds sometimes they get crushed up fall apart so you can't see them. They rarely look as bad in a bale as in the windrow. Those pictures you posted JD look better then some of the pictures on craigslist for round bales brought in from out of state to this area.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

In the windrow


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Hay in the windrow. Probably not close-up enough. 
That was on part of the steep ground I started the thread about. There is a steeper part to the left.


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## AndyL (Mar 9, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> Hay in the windrow. Probably not close-up enough.
> That was on part of the steep ground I started the thread about. There is a steeper part to the left.


I'll trade ya some levee hay ground for that place. Nice looking place there.


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## whitmerlegacyfarm (Aug 26, 2011)

Sure looks like decent hay to me. I sold 1100 bales to horse customers with weeds in. Looked great baled up, told him may find a weed or two in each bale but it was nice mixed grass hay. No complaints so far have others calling back for me. Looks like you got some really nice color to it, that's usually one of the most important things to the horsey people. Mine will eat just about anything, they dont' care about color just so it's decent hay and no mold.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

That's the most consistent thing I hear....NO MOLD. 
And I don't sell moldy hay, but I hear way less people talk about weeds.


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> Hay in the windrow. Probably not close-up enough.
> That was on part of the steep ground I started the thread about. There is a steeper part to the left.


  That slope don't look Half bad!  But did the foundation on that house wash out? :huh: Looks likes it's sagging to the right pretty bad!


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

That slop doesnt look too bad. Here is a pic of a less steeper slop I have.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

JD3430 said:


> Hay in the windrow. Probably not close-up enough.
> That was on part of the steep ground I started the thread about. There is a steeper part to the left.


Really hard to tell from pictures what the slope actually is. I have one that my straight truck will spin the tires trying to climb the hill unless it is loaded.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> That slope don't look Half bad!  But did the foundation on that house wash out? :huh: Looks likes it's sagging to the right pretty bad!


It's the picture takers fault. The way I took the picture makes the slope look less steep than it really is. 
The house sits nice and level. It's a beautiful old farmhouse.

The steeper part is to my left straight down into woods. 
Judging by the SOP factor, I'd say it was about as steep as I'd like to deal with.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> I know my trucker would probably have no problem taking 8 tons up for me, but then I'm on the clock while he's waiting for auction, etc.
> I have to get my own trailer and stop borrowing my buddy's trailer. Just tapped out of $ right now.


Put 6 bales on that F-550. Maybe you don't want to sell too many loads that size but you're going for research. not to sell all 300 at once!


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> So here's some bales I just made. Take a look tell me what you think of the side of this bale. What can you say about the bale based on what you see?


It's hay. Can't tell much. That's the beauty of a round bale. It hides everything! hahahahaha.

I had both my round baler and small square parked across from the house tonight and had already made some bales with each. My cousin drives by on his four wheeler (that's a quad in some parts of the country, I guess) and stops and says "That looks like awfully nice hay to be round baling". I say, "that's whay I'm round baling it. It looked like crap when I tried to make squares out of it!"

Really, it was still darn good second cut grass with a few (previously stated, a relative term) weeds but there is a market for everything and a value in the work you put in and if you have a decent looking round bale, you ought to get paid for feed. Maybe not top--quality feed, but lots of people will feed that less-than-perfect round bale. If you go to the auction, you'll find out that those buyers are actually often dairymen who need a certain quality of dry cow hay (or just fiber for in their tmr for the milking herd) but they are a bunch that can certainly accept some weeds for their purposes.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

8350HiTech said:


> Put 6 bales on that F-550. Maybe you don't want to sell too many loads that size but you're going for research. not to sell all 300 at once!


Yes loads should be 4.5 tons or less for Lancaster Pa auctions


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> I can store maybe 50-60 bales inside for the winter.. I could also pallet and tarp another 50 outside no problem. Problem is, I don't know the quality or lack thereof, of what I have.
> So far, I have only advertised the absolute cleanest, driest I have as "horse hay". Sold 100 4x5 bales of it already.
> Could I be selling myself short by not selling some of the next-level -higher -in weeds hay that I have? Some might think that would be good hay! Compared to what I see baled around here, it might be.
> Guess its better to err on the cleaner side than try to sell baled weeds like I see some of the local competition.
> I sold 10 4x5's to a local horse owner. She said the last hay she bought was so full of thistle that one of her horses had to have its gums operated on to remove them. She said she paid $7/small square for it!


I would sell fast the market is not good for hay stored outside in Pennsylvania


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## Hay Roller (Aug 5, 2013)

I always ask people to come look at my fields beforehand. If a rain storm hits my hay before I get it up, I tell them about it, etc. We all do the best we can with what the weather gives us. In my experience, I sell to two diferent populations of "horse people".

1) The ones who buy my hay and come back for more each year, and they say that their horses eat it all.

2) The people who snub their nose at my "regular grass" hay during warm weather in the spring and early fall and say things like "I want good hay for my horses." Then my phone rings early on a Saturday morning in late January or early February (usually when it's about 20 degrees outside and the snow is flying around), and the same people ask "Do you have any of that hay left?" If I have it, I sell it to them at my winter storage price. If I don't have it, I kind of smile and say "Sorry, I sold it a long time ago, but I'll have some more in May."


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Hmmmmmm... I like that "winter storage price" terminology. 
It helps the winter buyer understand storage isn't free.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

"Winter storage". = 50 cent jump on all small squares . Loading up trailers in 6 inches of snow ain't free


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## Hay Roller (Aug 5, 2013)

sethd11 said:


> "Winter storage". = 50 cent jump on all small squares . Loading up trailers in 6 inches of snow ain't free


Amen to that! What would you guys consider as a fair "winter storage" price jump for 4 x 4 round bales?


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

I don't do rounds myself, but I would say $5.00, if stored under cover. I'm assuming that a 4'x4' round is equivalent to 10 - 36" idiot cubes!

Math seems to support that, assuming the density is similar. (9,072 cu in for a 36" small square & 86,815 cu in for a .48"x48" round

JMHO, Dave


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## AndyL (Mar 9, 2013)

Hay Roller said:


> Amen to that! What would you guys consider as a fair "winter storage" price jump for 4 x 4 round bales?


Once I get it in the barn, the price goes up $5 weather it's the 4x5's or the 5x5's. It's $5 more.


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## Hay Roller (Aug 5, 2013)

Thanks guys. In the past, I charged $5.00 more. Glad to hear that from other people.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm still in the early phase of business where I'm reluctant to push prices too high too much.
I have seen one too many ads of the bottom feeders selling hay for about 1/2 what I sell for. I know mine is better, but most customers don't know what the heck they're buying. They think a $35 round bale of weeds is as good as a $75 bale of o/g & Timothy.

I had a spoiled kid come to my barn to look at hay. 20 something with daddys new dually and a snotty nose attitude. He looked at one of my fields and told me he'd like me to square bale the stand and get it ready for him within a few weeks. That's all fine & dandy I thought, but the dumbass was looking at a field full of foxtail all headed out real bad. Lol.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> I'm still in the early phase of business where I'm reluctant to push prices too high too much.
> I have seen one too many ads of the bottom feeders selling hay for about 1/2 what I sell for. I know mine is better, but most customers don't know what the heck they're buying. They think a $35 round bale of weeds is as good as a $75 bale of o/g & Timothy.
> I had a spoiled kid come to my barn to look at hay. 20 something with daddys new dually and a snotty nose attitude. He looked at one of my fields and told me he'd like me to square bale the stand and get it ready for him within a few weeks. That's all fine & dandy I thought, but the dumbass was looking at a field full of foxtail all headed out real bad. Lol.


Animals eat weeds too. If not baled my cattle won't eat milkweed until it freezes. And no thistle. About everything else they eat. I think your standards of weeds are pretty high. Plenty of potential customers out there with the bar set lower. Maybe price some of your mushroom hay a little higher and offer your good and cheaper hay?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Horse people usually don't want to see foxtail. 
My point was you kill yourself to make good low weeds hay and there's such a wide variety of knowledge amongst buyers. Some will buy foxtail for $5/bale thinking its good for horses and some will tell me they can get $35 dollar bales of "hay", so why pay $75 for yours even though the $35 bale is loaded with dogbane, thistle, Queen Anne's lace, etc.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Sure. I hear you there. Then again there might be some out there who know they don't want that $35 and will accept a few weeds for a discount onyour good stuff.

$0.02


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