Hay haulers

I haul hay year around as a primary business. Buy it, sale it, move it. It's not the same game as OTR. It's spot market trends mostly and if you are looking for a permanent gig their is a lot of work making contacts on both ends of the spectrum. Most of the guys hauling from Amarillo and Limon are hauling real cheap or they are commodity brokers and are not essentially, in the trucking industry. They are providing a sub service with the freight. They are supplier/shippers and 99.9 percent of the hay they move, they own. It's contracted. The reason you see it moving now is because demand is high this time of year, and the buyer calls on it as needed so he is not required to store it and therefore does not need storage space. The pricing is based on a summer hedge and the prices are locked in. The deal was made on the feed months ago. It's just waiting to ship as the buyer needs. Most "hay haulers" around here, are farmers and make some money on the hay delivery. As for 3d party shippers, they are usually small time O"O's who who have a direct relationship with the shipper. They are exempt from a lot of the rules that apply to interstate carriers as they are agriculture related. Just not the same game. IMHO, if you want to get into that line of work, think locally, and make connections. It can pay really, well. We roll two trucks with 53' drops with ramps to haul equipment to load hay. No single axles at all. Wouldn't even consider it.