Haylage for the equine market

[Thick Farmer]

I've been considering making haylage to sell to stable yards or racing yards.
Most of my grass is either Italian ryegrass or Perennial ryegrass so it should make reasonable stuff.
Does anyone have any advice as to size of bales (I was thinking something like 3'x3'x6' squares) and moisture content?
All advice and criticism gratefully received...

And yes, I know the script with some horsey types!

 

[Frank_farmer]

@Sleepy does this. so don't believe what he says because you will be 'the enemy'

 

[caveman]

Maybe ask potential customers what they want or what they don't want?

 

[4course]

the general horse trade has no idea what they want other than they dont want what you may have available wether 1st quality or rubbish and they dont want to pay for it and this year they will all want hay at £12/ big bale

 

[d williams]

I've been considering making haylage to sell to stable yards or racing yards.
Most of my grass is either Italian ryegrass or Perennial ryegrass so it should make reasonable stuff.
Does anyone have any advice as to size of bales (I was thinking something like 3'x3'x6' squares) and moisture content?
All advice and criticism gratefully received...

And yes, I know the script with some horsey types!

Bales to big 3/4ft max and smaller dimensions 50x 80 haylage wants to be under 24%

 

[7610 super q]

Made some nice stuff last year......not the slightest interest in it. Eventually sold it in May for f**k all. Competing with people selling silage for £6 / bale.
Guessing a lot more haylage made this year....
Good luck with it.....

 

[Grassman]

Find your prospective customers first and ask them what bale size they want.
The market is over supplied nowadays.
Plenty of round bales are delivered for £25 each one at a time on the back of a pickup. With modern balers that might be only £70 a tonne Including delivery! I used to get that price 30 years ago and the bales were a lot smaller then.
Yet someone making little bales of haylage will earn over £240 a tonne.

 

[Grassman]

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/up...-at-cash-strapped-sheffield-animal-sanctuary/

 

[Kevtherev]

I've been considering making haylage to sell to stable yards or racing yards.
Most of my grass is either Italian ryegrass or Perennial ryegrass so it should make reasonable stuff.
Does anyone have any advice as to size of bales (I was thinking something like 3'x3'x6' squares) and moisture content?
All advice and criticism gratefully received...

And yes, I know the script with some horsey types!

Cash on delivery.

 

[spikeislander]

@markc

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Made some nice stuff last year......not the slightest interest in it. Eventually sold it in May for fudge all. Competing with people selling silage for £6 / bale.
Guessing a lot more haylage made this year....
Good luck with it.....

Yes complete waste of time
The country is awash with haylage .plenty at £10 bale

 

[GTB]

Mate of mine supplies a riding school and a couple of smaller customers. He's managed to persuade the riding school to use normal round bales of fairly dry (almost hay) wrapped haylage. He delivers them straight off the field and stacks them and they have a small loader to handle them in the winter. I've never asked how much he charges tbh.

The smaller customers prefer hay. Mostly small bales but a couple do take round bale hay, usually three on a flat bed trailer, rolled off by hand. Again no idea of price but I would have thought a decent price considering all the hassle involved. Good thing is he bales it all himself and I expect it's mostly cash in hand on collection/delivery.

He often moans about fussy horsey women who wouldn't know good hay if it hit them on the nose complaining about everything, never have money on them or phoning at silly o'clock to say they've run out so be prepared.

 

[Thick Farmer]

Cash on delivery.

Cash is King!

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Cash is King!

That is your foundation for your venture

 

[robandles]

I usually make mine 4'6" square and you can move these about with two folk when delivering them. However baler man this year had a wonky tape measure and they ended up 5'6". Just can't move them at all.
Used to deliver to a busy yard but due to them not being able to move them they have moved onto round ones.
Also as said above the market is awash with them. I have folk near me selling for 50% less than they cost to make.
Also they do phone in a panic for a bale- you rush to help and they have "forgotten" their money. Aye right!
I've lost customers over this nonsense. Won't suffer it.

However if you can sell them it's good profit

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Right you need to do market resurch in your area . Until you do that you wont have a clue what bale size they like .you could end up with a yard full of squares a
You cant shift as they all want rounds

 

[robandles]

We started using squares ourselves and they were so much easier with much less waste. Easier to ration as well.
Some folk just can't get converted from round though.

 

[multi power]

@Thick Farmer I'm starting to think you really are thick !
But seriously keep the bales small and cash on delivery and minimum amount for delivery
I don't delivered less than 40 small bales

 

[davedb]

we make dry haylage more like hay and wrap it, a bale will keep for a couple of weeks without heating so even if a place has only a couple of horses they can have our round bales, we have been doing it for years with the same customers, its a handy bit of cash to have about

 

[buffalo_soldier]

Chap near me has a field right next to a village. As you can imagine everybody and their neighbour walks fido in there. Never a pooper scooper to be seen.

Would drive me potty.

What does he do.....

Makes one cut of small bale hay, collection off the field and sits at the gate collecting the cash as they leave.
Then rents it out for tack sheep.

All income, no hassle. The bloke is a genius.