We also get the "horse people" who come and want a truckload, then don't have the money, or want the chew you down on price. We have several people we have been selling to for over 20 years and we keep them. We have exchanged bales if they find some junk or mold as it can happen. Or we have told them up front that they might find some johnson grass and have given a few extra bales to compensate. We no longer take cold calls for hay. They have to be referred by someone, that we know, that won't send some jerk. Had one we had to basically threaten to get to pay us. So now it is payment on delivery before it comes off the trailer except to these few tried and true. If someone wants hay bad enough, they can come and we give them A BALE. They take it home, and see if their animals will eat it. Then we talk. We have some pure orchard grass stands, that are planted specifically for these horse hay people. One has some legit problems with clover and foundered horses, but she is a good customer, and will take some of the "less pure" with just pasture grass in it. So we take care of her. The biggest problem we have is getting help to make it. Stacking on the wagons, or loading on the trailer and unloading at those couple of tried and true customers. But they pay and help to unload if they are home. Often we will go unload and no one is there, and they will call the next day and say, how many bales and what do we owe and send a check right away.
Unfortunately, there are way too many not like them. Mostly now, we try to get them to come get it off the wagons, or directly dropped in the field. That way they can put what they want on their truck and pay and it is theirs. Done. I don't have the patience to deal with the ones that are jerks and if they don't like it, or whine or b##tch and complain, I tell them to leave it, my cows will eat it just fine. When their horses get hungry, they can pay more once it is in the barn. If we put it on the wagon, and they don't get it out of the field, and we have to take the wagon to the barn, it costs more. End of discussion.
We don't HAVE to deal with them, can sell all we make and then some, so we are getting pretty picky about who we sell to. It is a good income for us though and goes a long way towards paying for the costs of making all our hay so we do deal with some of it.
