Photo Gallery: Seven Ways To Sell More Hay

Apr. 26, 2012

Become A Benefactor

In exchange for a $1,000/year contribution, a statewide horse-owners’ association lists Cardinal Brothers Hay Sales, Hugo, MN, as a sponsor in house ads appearing in several club publications and also includes their business name on a banner displayed at club shows and other events held throughout the year. "People buying hay have all kinds of options on who to buy from," says Andrew "Butch" Cardinal, who farms with his brother, Jim. "If people see your name often enough, it starts sticking in their minds. Eventually, the light bulb clicks on, and they'll get in touch with you. If they don't know you're out there, they're not going to call."  
Dress Up Your Web Site With Hay Videos

Why just tell potential customers about your hay when you can show them a sample online? Brian Foss, a Volin, SD, hay buyer, does just that by posting videos on his Web site describing many of the hay lots up for sale. “It takes a lot of the guesswork out of buying hay for the customer,” Foss says of the videos. “This way, they know that if they order a particular load from me, it’s the load that they’re going to get. They just feel better about buying hay from you if they can have a look at it first.”
Put Your Farm In Pictures

The Geralds family – Clayton; his wife, Molly; and their son, Christopher – have always enjoyed taking photos of the various aspects of haymaking on their 600-acre farm near Munfordville, KY. For the past three years, they’ve been selecting the best photos from their fields for a Geralds Farms calendar that's sent to customers located throughout the Southeastern U.S. “People will throw away a business card, but they hang onto a calendar,” says Clayton. “They put it on their office wall, and every day they get a reminder of your business and where they got their hay.” For more on the Geralds, read "Alfalfa As A Grazing Crop" at hayandforage.com.
Lay Out The Welcome Mat

The front gate is always open for alfalfa-buying customers at Bowles Farming Co., near Los Banos, CA. Owner Phillip Bowles encourages visitors to check out his haystacks and fields and talk to his baling and shop crews, office staff and the farm’s next generation. Once a year, he invites customers to an appreciation picnic at the farm. “Business is about people relationships,” says Bowles, who grows 20,000-25,000 tons of alfalfa hay in a typical year. “We want our customers to feel like they know, and can feel comfortable with, everybody involved in our business.” Bowles offers additional marketing wisdom in the story, "The Best Way To Market Hay" at www.hayandforage.com.
Put A Parcel Service To Work

Sending an entire small-square-bale sample to a potential customer is a great way to close a long-distance sale, say David and Theresa Brenner of Orchard Park, NY. Along with giving the customer a better idea about color, weed content and leafiness, the bale sample demonstrates that the Brenners are committed to making a “nice, tight bale” that won’t fall apart during shipping and handling. Depending on the customer’s location, shipping cost is around $30. In most cases, the would-be buyers are willing to pick up the tab.
Pen A Yearly Newsletter

New equipment purchases, product availability, price trends, input costs and management practices are among the topics covered by John and Mary Lou Atkinson of Trails End Farm in Kingdom City, MO, in a letter they mail to horse-owning customers each April. Many horse owners want a connection to their hay suppliers, John believes. He sees the letter as a way to build loyalty among longtime customers. “They like to feel involved.”
Team Up With Other Growers

Being a member of the Nebraska Alfalfa Marketing Association (N.A.M.A) enables John Wood, of Crucible Farms near Bellwood, NE, to pool marketing resources with other top-notch growers in his state. His annual membership dues, based on hay acres in production, entitle him to list his contact information in N.A.M.A.’s widely-distributed membership directory and to post a regularly updated inventory of the hay he has for sale on the association’s Web site. “It’s the most cost-efficient way I’ve found for getting my name and information about my production out in front of customers on a regular basis,” says Wood. • Visit the N.A.M.A. Web site at www.nebraska-alfalfa.com/

You can put up the greatest hay on the planet, but if people don’t know about it, what do you have? That’s where marketing skills come into play. In this gallery, some of the country’s best hay growers/marketers share tips for attracting and keeping customers.

Photos courtesy of Rick Mooney, Harry Cline, Loretta Sorenson and the Atkinson, Brenner, and Geralds families.

Seven Ways To Sell More Hay

Become A Benefactor

Dress Up Your Web Site With Hay Videos

Put Your Farm In Pictures

Lay Out The Welcome Mat

Put A Parcel Service To Work

Pen A Yearly Newsletter

Team Up With Other Growers

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