There have been many questions this year on what the price of hay is. Obviously hay value is higher and was in short supply this past year due to drought and to more acres being picked up by corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Establishing a price for hay is difficult. A national market price structure for hay does not exist, so effective marketing is very important in getting a good price. Most cash hay producers rely on a combination of experience, assessing the demand, and knowing what others are asking as guidelines in establishing an asking price for hay. Needless to say, hay prices should take into account all costs associated with production, storage, advertising, and hauling the product; therefore, record keeping is very important. Price the product competitively and realistically, the availability and cost of other feedstuffs may affect the price. Some markets provide a greater premium than others for high-quality hay. Know what the requirements are to achieve those premiums and what forage tests are necessary to document the hay quality.
There are several good sources to refer to in trying establish a price for hay. A couple excellent internet sites are: www.hayexchange.com and www.hayandstraw4u.com/ohio
The hayexchange.com site will allow you to select the state and one of the requirements for data entry is you must list the price so this is a good way to see present values. Another method to establish hay price is to monitor various hay auctions held around the state. Some of the hay auctions located at least in the north and central part of the state are as follows:
Ashland County Auction, Ashland, Ohio
Blooming Grove Auction, Shiloh, Ohio
Danville Auction, Danville, Ohio
Kidron Auction, Kidron, Ohio
Mt. Hope Auction, Mt. Hope, Ohio
Yoder, Frey, Inc., Archbold, Ohio
Obtaining a hay analysis is always helpful. The internet sites allow space for this information and it can also be promoted at the hay auction. Both the seller and buyer benefit from this information.
Establishing a base of satisfied repeat customers is also critical to the long-term viability of a cash hay enterprise, and fair pricing is part of that process. Many successful cash hay producers maintain a fairly stable price structure for their valued customers. These producers set realistic prices and do not raise them appreciably in response to short-term hay deficits and high market prices. They do this in hopes that their customers will remain loyal and will continue to accept there established price structure when hay is plentiful and prices are low. You may hear reports of very high prices, but it is better to treat your good customers fairly over the long haul than to gain a few high-priced sales of limited volume to people you may never see again.