Horse Hay As A Cash Crop?

The rural landscape in Ontario is changing, and we are seeing more and more horse farms. There are about 300,000 horses in Ontario, and the numbers are increasing. These horses consume approximately 750,000 tonnes of hay every year. The U.S. has over 9 million horses, and many of these are located within trucking distance from Ontario. For hay producers, there is a huge potential market, but special skills are required.

Listen To Your Customer

The first rule of successful marketing is to “identify the product your customer wants to buy, and then produce that product”. In order to be successful in the hay business, both hay production and marketing skills are required. Knowing your buyer and what she wants in terms of quality is a crucial component in carving out a niche in this market. Do your market research first, before you make the hay.

Freedom From Rain-Damage, Mould & Dust

The criteria for “quality hay” are quite different for horses than they are for cattle. Forage quality for dairy producers means a high percentage of alfalfa, and early cutting to ensure high protein and digestible energy. By contrast, for horse owners, “quality hay” most importantly means dust-free and mould-free. Mouldy hay is the result of rain damage, baling at moistures that are too high, slow drying in the windrow during high humidity, or improper storage. Horses are very susceptible to mould spores and suffer irritation of the respiratory tract. This can result in “heaves”, a chronic cough and “wheezing” that is very damaging.

Match The Type of Hay With The Horse

Matching the nutrient content of hay with the requirements of the horse is important. There are many different types and uses of horses with different levels of nutrient requirements. Relative to dairy cows, horses do not have high crude protein (CP) requirements. Some horse types, such as idle and lightly used mature horses, may have CP requirements of less than 10%. Nursing broodmares, high performance horses, and growing horses require higher digestible energy and protein diets, and therefore higher nutrient content hay. However, a large proportion of horses in the countryside, including the many idle or lightly used recreational horses, do not require high energy or even moderately high protein diets.

For a large proportion of the horse hay market, early cutting to increase protein and digestible energy is not as important, or even necessarily desirable. A mature horse used for the occasional trail ride is at risk of being too fat if fed high digestible energy hay. Hay that has no mould or dust is more important to maintaining the health of this horse. Grass or grass-alfalfa mixtures are often more suitable. The preferred mixture is typically alfalfa and timothy.

Green, Soft & Weed-Free

Colour does not provide any direct information on the nutritional content of hay, but a poor colour can be an indicator of problems during harvest and storage. A rich green colour indicates that the hay was not rained-on, dried quickly (indicating higher sugar content), and did not heat or mould during storage. Poor odours can also indicate mould. Weeds and trash, such as old stubble, will reduce the value of horse hay. Weeds can be present in pasture and hay that are highly poisonous to horses. Soft hay is more palatable to horses. Unlike cattle, horses use their mouth and lips to manipulate hay and pasture plants when eating. They easily sort feed and eat leaves while leaving the coarse stems.

The Package – Bale Type & Size

While there are some opportunities to market large square and round bales to horse owners, small square bales provide the greatest opportunity to meet the premium price horse hay market. This means manual labour or investment in automated small bale handling equipment. Small square bales are usually handled many times, so they need to be firm, “square shouldered” and hold their shape. A consistent bale size is important to fit trucking requirements. Small square bales should be stored on their edge. Similar to the hoops of a barrel, the twine helps the bales maintain their shape and prevents flattening. This adds to a bale’s ability to “breathe” and dissipate moisture.

There is some demand from horse owners for large bales, based on their lower cost. Large bales are a convenient way to feed large groups of horses outside, but many horse farms do not have a loader tractor to handle them. Large bales can be “flaked” and are therefore also easier than large round bales to feed to stalled horses inside. Because they are more dense and need to be drier at baling, large square bales can be more challenging to make without mould and dust.

Marketing Skills

“Marketing” is not producing a product and then selling it for whatever price can be had. Marketing involves identifying a product that costumers want to buy and then producing the product. Talk to potential customers to identify market opportunities. What kind of hay do they want, and in what kind of package? Are you targeting local or export markets? How will you ensure you get paid? Gain market share by selling a quality product, rather than selling at a lower price. Work closely with a reputable hay dealer, or develop your own markets by networking, advertising and personal contact.

Hay is sold on the basis of reputation. For repeat business, be sure to consistently meet the buyer’s expectations on the type and quality of hay. Taking care of existing customer loyalties is easier than trying to find new customers. Be sure to have adequate liability insurance. Hay producers targeting the horse market usually have alternate markets for hay that does not meet the quality criteria because of rain-damage or mould. This is often sold into the beef cow market for a much lower price.

Horse Hay As A “Cash Crop”

Successful horse hay producers and marketers pay attention to small details. Using newer hay harvest technology, such as new design conditioners, rotary rakes, windrow invertors, preservatives, and bale accumulators, can reduce drying time and labour. Hay crops have high removal rates of phosphorus potash, so fertility is important.

There are opportunities to “add value” to hay crops by producing specific hay products, and by providing customer service such as trucking. Farmers that view horse hay as a surplus market and do not produce the product specifically for horse hay are often disappointed and miss out on the potential premium prices necessary to make a profit. Refer to “Making & Marketing Horse Hay” and other articles on the OMAFRA Forage Website.

Related Links

• OMAFRA Forage Website

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