Manufacturers and Producers Examine the State of the Hay Industry.

Mary Shepherd

To get an inside look into the current state of the hay industry, we asked sever al equipment manufacturers and hay producers to give us their take on the industry.

Our thanks to the following individuals who contributed information for this article:

Manufacturers: Marsha Dabich, Case Corporation, Racine, WI; Darrel G. Hoelscher, Hoelscher, Inc., Bushton, KS Randy Hoffman, New Idea Products, Duluth, GA; Ken Johnson, Hesston, Duluth, GA; Gary Kelderman, Kelderman Manufacturing, Inc., Oskaloosa, IA; J.E. Lowery, Lowerry Manufacturing Co., Boaz, AL; Gary MacDonald, MacDon Industries Ltd., Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Charles Siebenga, Pro Ag Designs, Inc., Belgrade, MT.

Producers: Dean Campbell, Coulterville. IL: Mike Hawking, Bedford, KY; Jim Schwebach, McIntosh, NM; Donald Simmons, Danielsville, GA; Steve Tesarik, Whitelaw, WI; and Greg Wright, Dresden, TN.

What has happened to the market for haying equipment in the past few years?

Despite many consolidations in the haying equipment industry and also in farming operations, several companies reported that demand for their high production haying equipment sales had increased dramatically. Among the sales trends noted were an increase in larger equipment, a decline in sales of smaller equipment, and more large square balers than round balers in use today.

Ken Johnson, general marketing manager for Hesston, said some products groups were 'really hot' in 1997 - big square balers, disc mower conditioners, and self-propelled windrowers. Rake caddies, bale accumulators, stackers, loaders, and other bale handling equipment are additional equipment that is essential for collecting, storing, and moving hay, so their sales have increased with the hay market.

'We've seen a continuing trend to larger size windrowers and mower conditioners to feed the high capacity balers and forage harvesters being used today,' said Gary MacDonald, executive vice president of MacDon Industries. MacDon's new series of up to 30' wide hay windrowers will lay single-center-delivered or end-delivered windrows that can be picked up in pairs to feed high capacity balers and choppers.

What technological changes have affected the industry?

Randy Hoffman, general marketing manager for New Idea, said improved disc technology, along with segmented shafts that make repair easier and quicker, has continued to make New Idea's disc mowers popular sellers.

Newer technology for haying equipment also includes silage baling and wrapping systems for square and round bales and monitoring systems on balers and accumulators. Several manufacturers and producers suggested that the Internet has already had an impact on the industry as hay is bought and sold across the nation, depending on supply and demand, and it could change the way some equipment will be marketed in the future.

Technology for the mechanical handling of square bales that vary in size, shape and density - 32" - 96" long, weighing 50 - 2,000 pounds, and having a wide range of moisture content - has been under constant development, and manufacturers have created better equipment for the industry. Some of today's machines can adapt to these size and moisture variables, even at high speed.

'Simplified disc mowers and efficiency equipment top the list technologically,' said J.E. Lowery, president of Lowery Manufacturing. 'We find we must change with the times, so we now stock a much larger inventory to meet growing customer demands.'

New technology for commercial hay equipment was long overdue, according to grower Steve Tesarik, Whitelaw, WI. He sells 120 acres of alfalfa in large square bales and 500 acres of wheat straw in small square bales. 'In our local area, there has been a major movement to the mechanization of dry hay and straw production for baling squares,' he said.

Several of the growers said their operations have also been affected by new crop technology. New drying agents and preservatives have solved some of the problems caused by humidity in many parts of the country.

What trends are emerging in the industry?

Dean Campbell, grower from Coulterville, IL, said he sees a trend toward mid-sized bales because of the ease of handling and transporting them and the large labor savings of mechanical production. A commercial grower who cuts his 300 acres of alfalfa four or five times a year, Campbell produces 2ft x 3ft x 8ft bales to fit his customers' needs.

'We're also seeing more hay specialization,' he said. 'As dairies move to larger herds, they order what they want, so we're also seeing more hay grown to order.'

'The global demand for hay has been increasing as diet changes include more meat,' said Darrel Hoelscher, president and CEO of Hoelscher, Inc. He also noted that the affluent economy in North America has resulted in increased ownership of horses, which means more demand for high quality hay and more specialized production.

Greg Wright, Dresden, TN, a producer who caters to both the hobby and professional horse industry, grows specialized feed hays that are high in protein and are easily digested. He harvested 650 acres of hay in 1997 and plans to increase to 750 acres this year. Because many of his horse customers are women who must handle the bales by hand, he produces small square bales, 14" x 14" x 37", that weigh 55 - 60 lbs.

More producers are selling hay based on relative feed value, according to Jim Schwebach, a commercial grower from McIntosh, NM. Most of his 500 acres of alfalfa is baled 4ft x 4ft x 8ft and sold primarily to regional dairies - 'an excellent hay market as long as the dairy industry is strong.' However, horse racing, which is another regional hay market, is being hurt by Indian gambling, he said.

For manufacturers, the trends are toward more capacity and wider heads, as they see the number of acres increase and the number of farms decrease. Bigger machinery is in the works for many of the companies. For example, Kelderman Manufacturing plans to build a hay rake that will handle more than 40'.

Although feed lots, large dairies, mulch producers, and straw board manufacturers have mostly standardized on the large bales, many dairies have geared up to handle both dry and high-moisture mid-size bales, according to Darrel Hoelscher.

What issues are facing the hay industry?

Several of the producers mentioned that because farm labor has become scarce, it is important that they have the right machinery to mechanize the jobs, and they pointed out other concerns from their own perspectives. For Jim Schwebach, it is water in the West and environmental concerns across the country. Better herbicide control to eliminate Johnson grass in horse hay is an issue for Donald Simmons, Danielsville, GA.

Michael Hawking, Bedford, KY, said the state should do more to promote quality Kentucky forage and help eliminate over-priced non-quality hay. Dean Campbell would like to see some standardization in hay identification and better testing reliability.

For manufacturers, the concerns are somewhat similar. Gary MacDonald suggested that companies need to become more pro-active in response to issues about which customers are concerned. He also said equipment reliability and safety are constant concerns to equipment companies.

Liability, escalating costs, and off-shore competition were the issues named by J.E. Lowery. Marsha Dabich called milk prices and El Nino's effects short term issues and the smaller customer base caused by consolidations a long term issue. Charles Siebenga, of Pro Ag Designs, said the demands for better quality hay and transportation are a couple of concerns for the industry.

'As manufacturers, we face one of the same problems as our customers - labor,' said Darrel Hoelscher, whose company has added robotics and other automation to their plant to handle the increased demand for haying products. He suggested that mechanization and technology is also helping today's producers manage their labor.

'The proper equipment, for both manufacturers and producers, means the difference between success and failure in the hay industry.'