Title: Marketing Hay To The Fast Growing Horse Industry
1Marketing Hay To The Fast Growing Horse Industry
- Dr. Tim L. Stanton
- Owner/Manager of Sunset Stables LLC
- Extension Feedlot Specialist for 25 years
2How does one find horse stables or horse owners
willing to buy your hay?
- Phone book/website
- North Forty News, Fence Post, Thrifty Nickel,
Newspapers, Local Horse Publications - Hay haulers
- What do stables want?
- People that want to board or breed horses
3How do you make the connection?
- Personal contact
- Phone call
- Visit stable
- email
- Advertisement
- Bring a sample of your hay with analysis
4How do you keep repeat business?
- Deliver quality at a fair price
- Ask your customers what they want!
- Be ready to provide it
- Know your product
- Minimize variability
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6Hay quality assessment
- Free of mold, dust, foreign material
- Free of weeds blister beetles
- Fresh smell
- Leafy green without a lot of stems
- Lab analysis??
7Horse Hay Reality
- Hay weight x digestibility
performance manure - Eating rate - palatability
- Uniformity in bale weight
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9Hay Classification
- Horse hay 100-250/ton
- Priced by bale ( small squares) or ton
- Dairy hay 110-180/ton
- Priced on RFV basis/ton (big packages)
- Cow hay 80-150/ton
- Priced per ton
- Mulch/erosion control price ???
10Hay Cost and Board Fees
/ton 30 lbs /month 300/month
100 1.50 45.00 255.00
125 1.88 56.25 243.60
150 2.25 67.50 232.50
175 2.62 78.75 221.40
200 3.00 90.00 210.00
225 3.37 101.25 198.75
11Hay Costs and Board Fees
- For every 25/ton increase in hay prices, one
must increase board fees about 11.25 per month
to offset the hay increase. - _at_ 30 lbs hay/horse/day
- Can we decrease lbs/head/day and still maintain
body condition? - Yes, if we purchase higher quality hay!
12Hay Quality Determination
- Stage of maturity when cut
- Lack of weathering
- Handling during harvest
- Duration and conditions of storage
- Minimize bottom or top bale spoilage
- Dont send cow chips and rocks
- Weed free as possible
13Storage Losses
- Inside 5-10
- Outside on ground 8-29
- 2 yrs 13-32
- Bottom bales - to prevent losing a whole layer -
consider placing gravel or recycled asphalt on
hay storage area (outside under tarp)
14Storage Feeding Losses, Stored Inside Rack
Fed
Hay form Storage Feeding Total
Small sqs. 4 5 9
Large rnds. 4 4 8
Cubes or pellets 2 2 4
15Stage of Maturity on Alfalfa Digestibility
Stage digestibility
Pre-bud 66.8
Bud 65.0
Early bloom 63.1
Mid-bloom 61.3
Full bloom 59.4
Late bloom 57.5
Mature 55.8
16Grass, Grass/Alfalfa, Alfalfa
- Choice depends on supply and what horse owners
want you to feed. - Can you feed alfalfa only?
- disadvantage if you are riding on city trails.
- Increased urine volume ammonia odor
- Cereal grain hay harvested when green
- More grain higher feeding value- soft dough
17How Should I Sell Hay?
- By the bale?
- By the ton?
- What is the best value?
18Cost per Bale
Bale wt. lbs /bale /ton
40 6.00 300
50 6.00 240
60 6.00 200
70 6.00 171
80 6.00 150
19Pricing on RFV
- 125 RFV x 1.1 137.50/ton
- 1.3 162.50/ton
- Coefficient varies depending on supply demand
20Relative Feed Value
- Hay sellers will find labs that tend to analyze
forage a little higher in RFV. - Ask if the analysis is from a certified lab.
- There may be an economic advantage to move from
buying hay on a per bale basis to a RFV basis or
use crude protein/ADF or TDN basis.
21Hay Packages
- Small squares
- 35-100 lbs
- Usually the package of choice
-
22Hay Packages
- Medium squares
- 730-1425 lbs
- 3 x 3 x 8 ft.
- May offer potential savings some years
- Precise feeding is more challenging
23Switching from Small to Medium Square Bales
- May require a different type of feeding system
- One has to recalibrate flake size
- Instead of 2 flakes am pm with small bales
- Might only feed one flake of a medium square per
horse per day - This may require a larger stall feeder
24Medium Big Squares
- Require a hefty tractor/ loader and a different
method of feeding, rather than feeding 2-4 flakes
per horse per day. - Weigh the flake!
25Hay Packages
- Big squares
- 3 x 4 x 8 ft.
- 4 x 4 x 8 ft.
- 1300-1800 lbs
26Hay Packages
- Round bales
- 5 x 6 or 6 x 6
- 500-1500 lbs
- Good for feeding groups of horses
- Difficult to feed individual animals without
processing
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28Alternatives
- Sun cured alfalfa pellets
- Beet pulp pellets
- Soyhulls
- Cottonseed hulls/sunflower hulls
- Millet hay
- Straw/corn stalks
29Least Cost Energy
Ingredient /ton DE Mcal/lb /Mcal
alfalfa 140 1.1 .063
grass 170 0.9 .094
corn 142 1.8 .039
oats 150 1.54 .049
30Energy Requirements 16.4 Mcals/d for 1100 lb
Horse
Ingredients Lbs of feed required/d Cost/day
Alfalfa 16.4/1.1 14.9 1.04
Grass 16.4/.9 18.2 1.55
Corn 16.4/1.8 9.1 .65
Oats 16.4/1.54 10.6 .80
31Grain
- May want to consider feeding more grain
- Cheaper on cost /unit of energy
- Forage should never be less than
- 0.5 lbs/100 lbs of body wt. Or 5 lbs/1000 lb
horse/day - Safer if not more than ½ of total feed eaten
32Risks of Alternatives
- Boarder perception
- Constipation
- Colic
- Must supplement more concentrate to maintain
weight
33How to Buy Hay?
- Purchase on a ton basis
- Develop good relationships with hay growers pay
promptly dont bounce checks
34Marketing Hay to the Horse Industry?
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36How to Market Hay to the Horse Industry?
- Developing relationships
- Providing value
- Delivering in a timely manner
- Delivering hay year round
- Do you have storage?
37 38All I Need to Know in Life I Learned From My
Horse
- 1. When in doubt, run far, far away.2. You can
never have too many treats.3. Passing gas in
public is nothing to be ashamed of.4. New shoes
are an absolute necessity every 6 weeks.5.
Ignore cues. They're just a prompt to do more
work.6. Everyone loves a good, wet, slobbery
kiss.7. Never run when you can jog. Never jog
when you can walk. And never walk when you can
stand still.8. Heaven is eating for at least 10
hours a day... and then sleeping the rest.10.
Eat plenty of roughage.11. Great legs and a nice
rear will get you anywhere. Big, brown eyes help
too.12. When you want your way, stomp hard on
the nearest foot.13. In times of crisis, take a
poop.14. Act dumb when faced with a task you
don't want to do.15. Follow the herd. That way,
you can't be singled out to take the blame.16. A
swift kick in the butt will get anyone's
attention.17. Love those who love you back,
especially if they have something good to eat.
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