Two weeks ago we asked for hay and straw suppliers. Since then the enquiries have kept coming, faster than we can fill them, so we are asking again with the numbers in front of us.
If you make hay, bale straw or wrap haylage and have forage to sell this winter, we have customers waiting. Joining is free, and you keep the price you quote.
What has happened since
Hay, straw and haylage enquiries have nearly tripled month on month. We took four in the whole of September. We have taken eleven in the first three weeks of October, and the month is not over.
The hard part is what happens next. Of the fifteen enquiries since the start of September, only three have had a single price back. The other twelve went out to the contractors covering those counties, and nobody on the list had bales to sell. Those are customers who told us exactly what they wanted, when they wanted it, and whether they could collect, and we had nobody to send them to.
That is the gap. The demand is real and it is growing. The supply side of the network has not caught up.
Where the enquiries are coming from
This autumn's enquiries have come from:
- Scotland: Dumfries and Galloway, Moray, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, Aberdeenshire and West Lothian. More than half of all hay enquiries this autumn have been Scottish, and Scotland is where we have the fewest suppliers.
- The south of England: Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire.
- East Anglia: Suffolk.
- West Wales: Dyfed.
If you are anywhere near those counties and have forage, you are the person we are looking for. If you are somewhere else, join anyway. The hay, straw and haylage page has a version for every county, people find it when they search for forage near them, and the next enquiry can come from anywhere.
What customers are asking for
Where customers told us the forage, straw was asked for more often than hay, which fits the time of year: bedding for the winter, and the garden, chicken run and pig ark. Hay for horses and ponies is close behind, and some want both in one order.
Bale sizes run the full range. Small conventional bales are the most requested, from people with no tractor and no handling kit. Round and large square bales come up for yards and smallholdings that can take a load. Some customers do not know what they want and say so, which is an opening for a supplier who can advise.
Delivery matters. Of the customers who told us, most wanted the bales delivered or would take either, and a few can collect. A supplier who delivers, or who will load a car trailer in the yard, gets the order.
Some of these are regular orders, not one-offs. A yard that takes a load every few weeks through the winter is the best kind of customer, and they are asking.
Why they go unanswered
The network behind the site is mostly land contractors: the people who top, harrow, spray and cut hedges. Plenty of them make hay for their own stock, and a few sell it, but most do not carry a surplus in October, and a hay enquiry can only be filled by someone who does.
We have one supplier who delivers hay and straw nationwide and takes every enquiry in the country. One is not enough. Customers want a local price, a local delivery and, often, a local name they can ring again in January. The more suppliers we have in each county, the more of these orders turn into sales instead of apologies.
How it works for a supplier
- Sign up, pick your counties, tick hay, straw and haylage. Tell us where you are and how far you will deliver. We check who you are and speak to you before any enquiry reaches you.
- Enquiries arrive by email and text. What they want, how much, bale size, delivered or collected, one-off or regular, and when.
- Price it or pass. One tap either way. Say what the crop is, when it was cut, how it was stored, the bale size and weight, and whether the price is per bale or per load. Passing costs nothing.
- The customer chooses and pays a deposit. Each supplier prices on their own and nobody sees anyone else's figure. Once the customer books, you get their details to arrange delivery.
- Deliver and get paid. Mark the order complete, send us your invoice, and you are paid your full price once the customer's balance has cleared. You never invoice the customer and you never chase them.
There is no joining fee, no monthly fee and nothing comes off your invoice. Our margin is added on top of your price and paid by the customer.
Who we want to hear from
- Farms with surplus hay or straw this year, or who make forage to sell every year and want another outlet.
- Contractors who bale and could sell a few loads a winter alongside the rest of the work.
- Small producers with meadow hay in small bales. Pony owners are most of our customers and this is exactly what they want.
- Merchants and hauliers who buy in and deliver over a wide area. You can take orders from several counties at once.
- Anyone in Scotland with bales to sell. Right now that is where the enquiries outnumber the suppliers by the widest margin.
You do not need a website or a sales pitch. You need forage, a delivery radius and a price.
Join before the next enquiry lands
Enquiries are arriving every few days and we would rather send them to you than tell the customer we have nobody. Join the network, pick your counties, tick hay, straw and haylage, and the next one in your area comes to you.
If you already have an account and sell forage, check that hay, straw and haylage is ticked under the services you offer in your account. If it is not, you are not seeing these.