For Jim Lintott, producing and marketing hay for the horse industry
happened by chance rather than by design.
He started his farming career growing alfalfa seed and raising
leafcutter bees, but gradually added a sideline producing hay for the
dairy industry.
He then began toying with the idea of compacting hay, which would
extend his ability to export forages to dairy farms in the United
States. While casting about for compacted hay markets in the U.S., he
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stumbled upon opportunities to export hay to American horse owners.
That prompted the Oakbank, Man., producer to think less about dairy
farms and more about horses.
He found dairy farmers to be finicky about what they fed their cattle.
While horse owners could also be fussy, they had only one main
requirement: clean hay without dust and mould.
“As long as it is clean and dust-free, it goes into that market fairly
successfully,” he said during a presentation at the Manitoba Livestock
Expo in Brandon on Nov. 15.
“I have never been asked for a feed analysis by a horse owner.”
He also liked the prices. Hay exported to the U.S. sold for seven to 10
cents US per pound delivered.
Most of Lintott’s customers are female, reflecting the fact that more
American women than men own and ride horses.
For many of his customers, horses are companion animals, so they are
less likely to quibble about price than someone buying feed for a dairy
cow.
But they are not pushovers. They don’t want weathered hay and they’ll
reject bales from the bottom of a haystack if they are crusted with
dirt and mould from sitting on the ground. Weeds in the hay will also
raise eyebrows.
“She has a very high standard of what she wants for her horse, but
she’s very prepared to pay for it.”
Lintott grows an alfalfa-grass mix and many of his customers prefer it
in small square bales because they are easier to handle.
He prefers to store his bales in a shed on his farm and stack them on a
hay mulch base at least 71/2 to 10 centimetres thick to prevent the
bottom row from touching the floor.
“I will not ship a bottom bale if it is discoloured,” he said.
“It’s got to be as good as the bale above it.”
Even with that kind of quality control, he knows customers will reject
at least a couple of bales in every shipment. He takes that into
account when negotiating.
“There are always rejects so I build that into my price.”
Because of the high costs of shipping to states as far away as Florida
and Texas, Lintott wants to be sure the bales will be accepted once
they reach his customers. He inspects all sides of the bales as they
are loaded.
Moisture content is a factor because of the high humidity in some
states. He knows bales with more than 18 percent moisture will likely
be too wet by the time they reach customers, who will think the hay
might rot while in storage.
The biggest markets for horse hay are in the more heavily populated
areas of Canada and the United States. Lintott said that includes a
stretch of country from Toronto to Miami in the east and from Louisiana
to Texas and Los Angeles in the west.
He found the internet to be a powerful tool when searching for
potential buyers.
When negotiating a sale, Lintott often will send a sample slab of hay
to the prospective customer via a courier service. It’s easier than
trying to describe the hay over the phone.
He knows his customers want a reliable supplier. He tries hard to
ensure shipments arrive on the appointed day.
Otherwise, he could have an unhappy customer waiting with an idle work
crew. In those circumstances, there’s a chance the customer will deduct
the wasted time from their hay payment.
There is always a risk he won’t be paid when shipping to the U.S. He
protects himself by establishing repeat customers and getting to know
them, and asking that a certified cheque be given to the truck driver
before the hay is unloaded.
Lintott farms east of Winnipeg where the weather can be fickle at
haying time. He’s lucky if he can get four consecutive days without
rain.
He has devised a variety of strategies to manage that risk. For
example, his hay bine is only 12 feet wide, improving the odds that his
hay will cure in time for baling before the next rainfall.
He also has alternative uses for hay not suited to the horse market. He
still sells to dairy farmers and co-owns a beef cattle herd. He can
also sell to other beef producers, although prices aren’t as high.
Lintott advises anyone thinking of growing and marketing their own hay
to start their sales efforts closer to home and to build expertise
before scouting for premium markets farther afield.
