# Starting a Small Hay Farm



## kadenjones11 (Aug 16, 2016)

Hey there fellow hay talkers,

I hope that you guys could help me out by giving me some of your own opinions, and any help/advice would be awesome. So here is the thing, my mom recently inherited a 1/4 section of farm land after the passing of my grandpa. Also ever since I was little helping my grandpa on his farm I knew that I wanted to some day own my own farm. The quarter have about 145 acres that is farmable since the rest is sloughs. SO anyways what would be the best stuff to plant on it to start out. I was either thinking straight alfalfa or oats for green feed, or oats and alfalfa (if that is possible). Also what would I be looking at when it comes to TON per acre. I know it all depends on soil quality and moisture, (this is dry land I get to deal with). I did some research that I should get around 2.5T per acre with oats and 3.4T per acre with alfalfa. Another thing is on your average year, are you going to get a second cut on straight alfalfa?? I know it probally will not be as good as your first cut but if you are able to get 1/3 or 1/4 of your first cut is that good?? Or should you be getting more than that on a second cut.

Thanks for taking the time to read this everybody I really appreciate it. I hope that you fellow hay talkers will be able to help me out here, and any advice would be gradlly welcomed. ALSO I am not doing this right away but hopefully a few years down the road


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

You have so many things to learn it would probably be best to rent out your land in the beginning. If you do not have tractors and equipment you definitely want to rent out in the beginning. Ag production is in a down period profitability wise. Use this time to learn and let others shoulder the risk.

Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Haying is not a Field of Dreams and if you plant it they will just come and buy it.

Marketing of hay is the hardest part so I'd be worried about that before anything else.


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## vtlpluyr (Mar 27, 2016)

If it is a few years down the road then go to your local Coop now and chat with their crop specialist. She / He will set you up with soil testing and such. Having good soil is key, no point trying to establish productive hay stands if the ground won't support it. You may need lime and potash and God knows what else. I would try to make the liming and other adjustments all a part of the rental agreement if you go down that road in the short term so you are not on the hook for it. You local Coop guy knows your local hay market as well and would get you going in the right direction. Much also depends on what kind of buildings you have, can afford to build, and your equipment budget. Your provincial dept of agriculture will have people who can help with business planning and such also...

After this summer I won't dare make any equipment recommendations There are some very smart people on this site who would be better at telling you what road to go down depending on what kind of hay you end up making (horse / beef cattle / dairy)...

My Grampy used to say that good / great hay always sells. Mind you that could be a function of our location and other variables...


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Welcome to haytalk Kaden......


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## azmike (Jan 4, 2015)

If you can buy your farming tools (baler, tractor etc.) outright over time you will see profit sooner. Debt load is the problem for many start-ups. Be that any business.


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

There ought to be plenty of info from the Canadian Government farm people. Stats, weather etc. I'm guessing you will be low on boron, phosphates plus other things, the soil might be alkaline and soil testing is a very big deal. I'm assuming you will be dry land farming (no irrigation) and this is a big crap shoot. Your soils must be able to retain moisture, so an agronomist is very important. How many days per year are frost free? Definitely find out if you can sell the crop at a profit and have a way to ship it. If your land is miles from a market or buyer, this could be a problem.

I think Vol and swmnhay have the best ideas; rent the land out and see what what they do for a few years. I can imagine a situation where a farm could be so remote that GIVING the hay away could be impossible. Don't run out of money.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Kaden,

Welcome to HT, as others have said rent the ground out. Use the profits to slowlyyyyyyyyyyy acquire some equipment (thinking you already have a barn/shed to house). Then start slowlyyyyyy into hay (5-10 acres??), hiring some of the processes (baling, cutting, etc.). While doing this, develop a couple of things one (the biggest one) knowledge on making hay in YOUR area, steep learning curve and two a market for your production. 145 acres is a lot of hay, that would require a fairly significant amount of equipment/operators/storage/market and knowledge/experience, IMHO

As my late Dad would say, 'anyone can drive a tractor, knowing how to properly operate a tractor is a different story'. You would have a lot of operations to learn/teach, in order to do 145 acres of hay. I'm still learning after being involved in making hay for 50+ years (disclaimer, I grew up on a dairy farm, we started working pretty young, different world back in the day).

Larry


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## OhioHay (Jun 4, 2008)

swmnhay said:


> Haying is not a Field of Dreams and if you plant it they will just come and buy it.
> 
> Marketing of hay is the hardest part so I'd be worried about that before anything else.


I couldn't agree more. I would start off by defining your market...horse, cattle, dairy, ect. Are they local or will you be targeting a market some distance off? Now what type of hay does this market require? Is that compatible to your growing conditions and farmland. What quality standards are required by the market? By answering these questions, you will know what to plant. We serve many markets and grow many types of hay. You will also have to have an outlet for junk hay. Trust me, you will have some. We have cattle for this purpose.

With all that said, I think you have an opportunity here. To me, land base is the biggest challenge, and you have a head start there. I started out 23 years ago with the chance to farm 100 acres. There is no way I would have rented it to someone else. I worked hard. Lived very slim at times. Traded labor for equipment use. Did what I had to do. That is what farming is all about. So I wish you the best in this endeavor. " if you try, you may fail; but the greatest failure of all is to have never tried."


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## AgriCompact haydryers (Sep 3, 2016)

As "vtlpluyr" said before: Great hay always sell!

We are wishing you good luck, Kaden!

Once you will be set up with everything, contact us for producing nice´n´dry #hay !

Have a good Hay! 

The AgriCompact haydryers Team

AgriCompact Technologies GmbH, Germany

we deliver hay bale drying solutions. always. also in north america.

www.haydryers.com


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

haydryers said:


> As "vtlpluyr" said before: Great hay always sell!
> 
> We are wishing you good luck, Kaden!
> 
> ...


That's interesting.....but like everything else is the costs of production. Would you care to give us some first hand information on the various sized modular units, what kind of drying production we can expect with various units and of course most importantly, cost of units here in North America.

Regards, Mike


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