source: Farm and Food Report
Like the price of any agricultural product, the price of hay varies from year to year and depends on the supply and quality available, as well as demand from local and distant markets.
To help you find your way around the essentials of marketing your hay, Glenn Barclay, a Forage Development Specialist at Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF), has a few tips to share.
“When hay is plentiful, the price tends to be depressed, while the price rises as supplies drop. The prices obtained the previous year are not a great indicator of what can be derived from the market this year,” says Barclay.
“If you look at prices obtained over a 10 to 15 year period for a certain forage type, this will be a good starting point in pricing your hay. Use this price and ask more, or less, for your product based on the current hay crop quality and quantity.”
When listing your hay, Barclay advises quoting a price based on weight. This can be per ton, per tonne or per pound. It will avoid any confusion between the buyer and the seller.
“The weight of a given bale will vary according to the size of the bale, the type of material, the moisture content, the type of baler and the density of the bale.”
Keep in mind that feeder cattle operators will be interested in high quality grass or grass-alfalfa mixes.
“Overwintering beef cow owners will probably want lower quality hay,” explains Barclay.
“There is a demand for high quality alfalfa hay from dairies. Horse owners are also another source of potential demand.”
In order to tap into these markets, the quality must first be determined.
“By determining your hay’s quality, you can ask for a premium for superior quality or discount the price for lower quality hay. Hay quality can be determined at accredited feed testing laboratories on the prairies.”
Mode of payment requires special attention, according to Barclay.
“Check your buyer’s credit reputation and reliability of providing payment. Written contracts detailing such items as type of product, terms of payment, quality of product, weight of bales and delivery details should be used.
“If you are able to find a purchaser who is good to deal with, building a long term business relationship is desirable,” Barclay advises. “Your ability to retain good buyers will be enhanced by producing and protecting a quality product.
“Honesty is the best policy when accurately describing what you will deliver. A satisfied customer base can save time and hassles in future years.”
Be advised that hay prices can and do change rapidly.
“Prolonged, wet weather that spoils hay can increase the price. In order to keep abreast of such changes, refer to local and prairie wide newspapers.”
You can also check out the Feed Grain and Forage Listing Service on SAF’s website at:
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/feedforage/,
or call the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.
This site also has listings for many custom operations in addition to feed grains and forages. There are also links to Manitoba, Alberta and U.S. hay market sites that you can use to keep track of potential buyers.
For more information, contact:
Glenn Barclay
Forage Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 446-7650
André Bonneau
Forage Conversion Specialist
Agriculture Knowledge Centre
1 (866) 457-2377
Like the price of any agricultural product, the price of hay varies from year to year and depends on the supply and quality available, as well as demand from local and distant markets.
To help you find your way around the essentials of marketing your hay, Glenn Barclay, a Forage Development Specialist at Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF), has a few tips to share.
“When hay is plentiful, the price tends to be depressed, while the price rises as supplies drop. The prices obtained the previous year are not a great indicator of what can be derived from the market this year,” says Barclay.
“If you look at prices obtained over a 10 to 15 year period for a certain forage type, this will be a good starting point in pricing your hay. Use this price and ask more, or less, for your product based on the current hay crop quality and quantity.”
When listing your hay, Barclay advises quoting a price based on weight. This can be per ton, per tonne or per pound. It will avoid any confusion between the buyer and the seller.
“The weight of a given bale will vary according to the size of the bale, the type of material, the moisture content, the type of baler and the density of the bale.”
Keep in mind that feeder cattle operators will be interested in high quality grass or grass-alfalfa mixes.
“Overwintering beef cow owners will probably want lower quality hay,” explains Barclay.
“There is a demand for high quality alfalfa hay from dairies. Horse owners are also another source of potential demand.”
In order to tap into these markets, the quality must first be determined.
“By determining your hay’s quality, you can ask for a premium for superior quality or discount the price for lower quality hay. Hay quality can be determined at accredited feed testing laboratories on the prairies.”
Mode of payment requires special attention, according to Barclay.
“Check your buyer’s credit reputation and reliability of providing payment. Written contracts detailing such items as type of product, terms of payment, quality of product, weight of bales and delivery details should be used.
“If you are able to find a purchaser who is good to deal with, building a long term business relationship is desirable,” Barclay advises. “Your ability to retain good buyers will be enhanced by producing and protecting a quality product.
“Honesty is the best policy when accurately describing what you will deliver. A satisfied customer base can save time and hassles in future years.”
Be advised that hay prices can and do change rapidly.
“Prolonged, wet weather that spoils hay can increase the price. In order to keep abreast of such changes, refer to local and prairie wide newspapers.”
You can also check out the Feed Grain and Forage Listing Service on SAF’s website at:
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/feedforage/,
or call the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.
This site also has listings for many custom operations in addition to feed grains and forages. There are also links to Manitoba, Alberta and U.S. hay market sites that you can use to keep track of potential buyers.
For more information, contact:
Glenn Barclay
Forage Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 446-7650
André Bonneau
Forage Conversion Specialist
Agriculture Knowledge Centre
1 (866) 457-2377
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