If you make hay, bale straw or wrap haylage and have some to sell, we would like to hear from you. Emmerdale Agriculture takes enquiries for hay, straw and haylage from horse owners, smallholders, farms and yards across the UK, and we need more suppliers in every county to fill them. Joining is free.
Why we are asking
Our hay, straw and haylage page has a version for every county in England, Scotland and Wales, and people find it when they search for forage near them. Enquiries have come in from the south coast to the north of Scotland, and the autumn is when they pick up: the grass has stopped, the first loads of the winter are being bought, and anyone who did not fill the barn in the summer is now looking.
The network behind the site is mostly land contractors, the people who top, harrow and spray paddocks. Plenty of them make hay. But a hay enquiry can only go to a supplier who covers that county and has forage to sell, and in a lot of counties we have nobody. That is the gap we want to close.
What customers are asking for
Most enquiries are small by farm standards and valuable by anyone else's:
- Meadow hay and seed hay for horses and ponies, by the trailer-load or a few dozen small bales at a time
- Barley and wheat straw for bedding, and for the garden, the chicken run and the pigs
- Haylage in wrapped bales for yards with no dry storage
- Big square, round or conventional small bales, depending on what the customer can handle and where it is going
- Delivered or collected. Many customers have no trailer and no tractor, so a supplier who can deliver, or who will load a car trailer in the yard, is the one who gets the order
Customers also ask for regular supply. A livery yard that takes a load a month through the winter is a better customer than a one-off, and they are exactly the kind of order we see.
How it works
- Sign up and pick your counties. Tell us where you are based, the counties you deliver to and what you sell. We check who you are and that you run a working business, and we speak to you before any enquiry reaches you.
- Enquiries arrive by email. When someone in your area asks for hay, straw or haylage, you get the request in your inbox: what they want, how much, whether they need it delivered, and when.
- Price it or pass. One tap either way. Give a price for what you have, say what it is and when you could deliver, or pass if it is not for you. Passing costs nothing and does not count against you.
- The customer chooses. Each supplier prices on their own, and nobody sees anyone else's figure. The customer compares the prices, the notes and each supplier's rating, and books one.
- Deliver and get paid. The customer pays a deposit to book, and you get their details to arrange delivery or collection. Once the load is with them, mark the order complete and send us your invoice.
You keep the price you quote
There is no joining fee, no monthly fee, and nothing is taken off your invoice. Our margin is added on top of your price and paid by the customer, so the figure you quote per bale or per load is the figure you are paid.
You never invoice the customer and you never chase them. The customer pays a deposit before you load anything. The balance is due once they have confirmed the delivery, or automatically three working days after you mark it complete if they raise no problem. You are paid your full price once that balance has cleared and we have your invoice.
Say what the bales are
A price on its own does not sell hay. Every price has room for a note to the customer, and with forage the note is most of the decision. Say what the crop is and when it was cut, whether it was barn-stored or stacked outside, the bale size and rough weight, whether the price is per bale or per load, and how soon you could deliver. If it is this year's crop and you can send a photo, say so.
Two prices that look far apart are often for two different products. A clear note shows the customer why yours is worth it.
Who this suits
- Farms with a surplus. You made more than you need, or you make hay to sell every year and want another outlet that does not depend on word of mouth.
- Contractors who bale. If you already make hay or straw for your own customers, selling a few loads a winter through the network fits around the rest of the work.
- Small producers. A few acres of meadow hay in small bales is exactly what the pony owners want, and they are most of our customers.
- Merchants and hauliers. If you buy in and deliver, and you can cover a wide area, you can take orders from several counties at once.
You do not need a website, a shop or a sales pitch. You need forage, a delivery radius and a price.
Optional premium membership
Joining and pricing enquiries is free. If you want more, premium membership costs £20 a month or £199 a year. It gets you first refusal on enquiries in your area before they open to everyone else, and a smaller margin is added to your prices, so the customer sees a more competitive figure for the same money to you.
You can join free and decide about premium later.
Suppliers wanted in every county
We want hay, straw and haylage suppliers across the whole of the UK, from the Home Counties to the Highlands, and we have already had enquiries in counties where there was nobody to send them to. If you have bales to sell this winter, join the network, pick your counties, and we will start sending you what comes in.
