| If you're looking for a non-conventional way to sell your hay bales, think about seasonal decoration. There are plenty of city slickers who will pay more than farmers for hay bales to put on their front porches in September and October. My wife spent a week searching a six-county area trying to find one for her annual hay bale + cornstalk + indian corn + pumpkin + scarecrow display. I've occasionally seen mini hay bales for sale in supermarkets. They're about the size of a MacBook and go for around $10. My guess is that what would be most cost-efficient for you is to find a garden center or regional big box hardware store that sells seasonal decorations, so that you can make one large delivery to where the people are. If any of your neighboring farms have pumpkin patches, maybe they'd be interested in selling hay bales to the public. We went to three pumpkin patches this year, and while all had hay bales for their own use, none had any for sale to the public. Just a thought from someone who's not a farmer, but has always had an interest in farms. |