MaryBeth Matzek: New app helps farmers determine hay prices

This is an excerpt from a column posted at BizOpinion

There seems to be an app for just about anything and now you can add finding current hay pricing to the list.

Greg Blonde, an agriculture agent with the UW-Extension in Waupaca County, has developed a free app to help farmers identify hay prices and help negotiate or purchase standing hay. Logically called Hay Pricing, the app is available for Android smart phones and on the Google Play store.

Blonde says users can do a lot with the app from entering projected hay yield, cutting schedule and harvest costs to calculate the standing value per acre of their crop. Unlike soybeans and corn, there isn’t an established commodity market for hay, which means finding reliable pricing information is a challenge – especially when it’s still out in the field.

“It’s that time of the year when fresh mowed hay fills the air across Wisconsin, which also means many farmers and rural neighbors will be negotiating the sale of standing hay,” Blonde says. “This new mobile tool helps farmers and rural landowners access the latest hay market information on the go, plus gives them a simple tool to help estimate field value when considering buying or selling standing hay.”

Read the full column